BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Fresh trouble appears to be mounting for senator-elect, Godswill Akpabio, over his Senate presidency ambition as the Arewa Consultative Forum has argued that Akpabio as the leader of the 10th National Assembly would spell doom for Northern Nigeria.
ACF, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, dissociated itself from the endorsement of Akpabio for Senate presidency by the Coalition of Northern groups.
Musa Saidu, a member of the ACF, said, “No true Northern group will want to endorse Akpabio for a sensitive position like that of Senate President because he is not friendly with the North.”
Saidu, also the leader of the Arewa Community in Southern Nigeria, said the Coalition of the Northern groups endorsed Akpabio out of ignorance.
The statement reads, “We hereby dissociate ourselves from the endorsement of Senator Godswill Akpabio for the Senate Presidency by a coalition of Northern groups.
“The Coalition is not speaking for the North, it is just speaking for itself.
“No true Northern group will want to endorse Akpabio for a sensitive position like that of Senate President because he is not friendly with the North.
“We are the people who know Akpabio because we are residents in the South, we know those who are friendly with the Northern people and Akpabio is actually not one of them.”
Saidu condemned Akpabio’s endorsement in its entirety, adding that, “I want to condemn the endorsement in its entirety because it was done out of ignorance. It is also possible that the groups were given some inducement to endorse Akpabio.
“I want to say that the Northern people are not beggars that will be endorsing people who are not friendly with them because of inducement.”
He said the ACF would continue to fight or speak against injustice in the country.
“Why should the All Progressives Congress (APC) be bent on zoning the 10th Senate Presidency to the South, when we have competent hands in the North?
“The North West gave the APC the largest votes in the February 25 presidential election, so why not consider somebody from the zone?
“I think it’s time for the party to reward the zone for the massive votes rather than start looking for somebody from the South as Senate President,” he said.
A coalition of Northern groups had endorsed Akpabio for the Senate presidency saying he was best suited for the position.
Apart from Akpabio, a former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, and Abdulaziz Yari, former Zamfara Governor, have also declared their interest to be senate president once the 10th Senate is inaugurated.
