Abdulaziz Yari, the Senator-elect of Zamfara West, has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of failing to follow its tradition of consultation before coming up with the zoning arrangements for leaders in the government. Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, revealed his thoughts during an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday. According to Yari, it would be unfair to give all the leadership positions to the southern part of Nigeria.
Yari had previously announced his interest in being the Senate President back in April. However, the APC National Working Committee chose Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President and Jibrin Barau as Deputy Senate President.
Yari criticized the zoning arrangement of the ruling party by not following due consultation and consideration for the federal character. He said, “Right from the beginning, the party has a tradition of widening the consultation: meeting with the president and all the members of the national assembly; because it is not the party’s business but that of the country.” He added that the party did not do any consultations and merely gave names that were adopted.
He went on to say that the constitution only gives the right to choose national assembly leaders to the parliamentarians. While the party can zone, the decision to accept or reject is left up to the individual. Yari questioned the party’s decision and asked whether they had taken into account the federal character. He pointed out that the president, chief justice of the federation, and national assembly chairman are all from the same place. Yari added that the current chief justice is from Oyo State, while Tinubu is from Lagos State, and Akpabio is from Akwa Ibom State.
Yari’s criticisms come after the APC announced its leadership zoning arrangement for the 10th National Assembly. The party had zoned the Senate President to the Northeast and Deputy Senate President to the South-South. However, there were complaints that the North Central was left out of leadership positions in the National Assembly.
In conclusion, Yari believes that the APC failed to follow its tradition of proper consultation before deciding on the zoning arrangements announced, which could have negative ramifications for federal character and national unity.
