10th NASS leadership: Gagdi doubts Tinubu is aware of APC zoning template

A new twist has been added to the controversies trailing the zoning template released by the All Progressives Congress {APC} for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly.

A top contender for the office of Speaker, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, on Tuesday, said he doubts if the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was aware of the endorsement of Hon. Tajudeen Abass and Hon. Benjamin Kalu as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively by the party.

Ripples Nigeria reports that the party, on May 8 unveiled both Abass and Kalu representing Zaria federal constituency of Kaduna State in the North West and Bende federal constituency of Abia State in the South East as its choices for speaker and deputy speaker.

The release of the zoning arrangement has, however, been stiffly opposed by aggrieved aspirants and geopolitical zones that felt cheated by the arrangement.

Gagdi, who represents Pankshin/Kanam/Kanke federal constituency of Plateau State and chairs the House Committee on Navy, while speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, said that Tinubu, who is a true democrat, would not deliberately be in bed with injustice.

The lawmaker also insisted that the APC zoning formula lacked equity, justice and fairness especially to the North-central geo-political zone which he said contributed immensely to the victory of the party in the February 25 general elections.

Read also: Plateau lawmaker, Yusuf Gagdi, predicts APC‘ll rule Nigeria for 100 years

He further submitted that it was not fair to ignore the North-central zone that produced 5 out of 6 governors for APC, 11 out of 18 Senators and gave the second highest number of votes to Tinubu, stressing that out of the 6 key offices in the executive and legislature, the zone was not rewarded with one.

He said: “The principle of our president -elect whom I so much respect and up till today I don’t believe that what is happening today the president -elect is aware of, or it is his own idea. That is why we keep on challenging the party.

“Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu has promised that he would reward loyalty and commitment. He would reward those who bring something to the table. He won only one local government in Kaduna State -Birnin Gwari because he visited them when bandits were attacking them. The man said he would stand with you through thick and thin.

“In a state that won only one local government you are giving the Speaker’s seat to them. It negates even the commitment of the president -elect. What the party did has contradicted the promise and the commitment and the way of politics of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Zamfara gave the highest votes in the north west and yet you are not giving them anything. You are giving to a state that gave you one local government. Are we rewarding disloyalty? Where is the principle of Asiwaju here that the party tore and threw away?

“We are not against Asiwaju. We have not heard anything from him whether he has zoned or endorsed a particular candidate. Except that the candidate, particularly the one of the House of Representatives is the one and his co-travellers saying”.

According to Gadgi, the G7 that has Hon. Muktar Betara, deputy speaker, Hon. Ahmed Wase, House leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, Sada Soli, Aminu Jaji and Miriam Onuoha and himself still held the ace for the speakership, adding that their group was not founded on self-aggrandizement but purely on justice and fairness to the 6 geopolitical zones, insisting that it was unacceptable to give two key legislative offices to northwest.

Gadgi further said that it was illogical to chant party supremacy where there is gross injustice to its members.

 

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