Vice-President-Elect Kashim Shettima has disclosed the reason President-elect Bola Tinubu opted for former Akwa-Ibom state governor, Godswill Akpabio to become the next Senate president.
According to Shettima, fairness and inclusivity were factors that spurred the choice of Akpabio.
There had been contention within the ruling party over zoning of leadership positions in the 10th National Assembly.
According to the zoning arrangement endorsed by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Akpabio from the South-South is the candidate for Senate Presidency, while Senator Jibrin Barau from the North-West should be the deputy.
In the lower legislative chamber, Abbas Tajuddeen from the North-West should get the position of speaker, while Benjamin Kalu from South East will get the Deputy Speakership slot.
Speaking when he met consensus candidates of the House of Representatives as well as members of the Joint Task at his campaign office in Abuja, Shettima lauded their efforts to galvanise support for the party’s candidates.
“What we are trying to avoid is a situation whereby the number one citizen, number two citizen, the number three citizen, the number four citizen, the number four citizen are all of the same faith. That will validate the negative narrative of Islamization of Nigeria.
“That is why my principal, a fair minded individual, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu insist the number three citizen must come from the South/south (Christian). The stability of the nation is more important than any other consideration. We are talking about inclusivity.”
The Vice President-Elect promised to do everything possible to reach out to the other aspirants to hear their grievances and chart a way forward.
“I will take upon myself to reach out to the other contenders. Rt Hon Betara is my brother. We are from the same sub-region, we are from the same state and I have the best relationship with him. I met him too nights ago, I will sustain that.”
“Around 1pm today I met with Rt Wase, the deputy speaker. We will continue with the engagements so we can have a rancour-free Assembly.”