The Northwest Progressives Forum (NPF) has declared that a former governor of Zamfara state, Abdulhazeez Yari, is the most suitable to be the President of the 10th senate.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday in Kaduna, Convener of the group, Nasir Danbatta, said, among all those from the northwest aspiring for the position, Yari is the best.
“We feel obligated, after considering so many factors, to suggest that when eventually the slot is micro-zoned to the Northwest, the person that is eminently competent for the job is former Zamfara state governor, AbdulAziz Yari”, Danbatta said.
He said his group and others, had critically examined the credentials of all the candidates being presented for the position, particularly, from the North-West, and came to the conclusion that “Yari is most suitable to be the next President of the Nigerian Senate.”
Danbatta said, “At the risk of overstating the issue, we are convinced that among all the people rooting for the senate presidency from the North-West, only Yari possesses the proven integrity, honesty and experience necessary for such a position.
“We, therefore, join other groups in categorically endorsing AbdulAziz Yari as the most competent for the job and call on stakeholders in the entire zone to do same.”
The group called on Bola Tinubu, the President elect,
“to wade in and ensure the zoning of the senate presidency to the Northwest and to move in favour of Yari.”
Danbatta said, the senate presidency should be zone to the northwest because the region gave the highest votes to Tinubu in the Presidential elections.
“We are aware of the several moves and counter-manourvres by regionalist political actors seeking to place their respective zones at advantage where it is not deserved.
“Official election result figures show that the North West produced the highest number of votes for Tinubu, which makes it the natural and legimate claimant to the number three seat.
“While we do not expect President-elect Tinubu and the APC to give to any zone, not least the North-West, what it does not deserve, we however feel it would only be fair to reward the people that toiled for and earned it.
“The rule of fairness, justice and ordinary decency demands in this circumstance, that the North-West, and not any other zone, deserves to be rewarded for its commitment to the APC and the Asiwaju ideals which it amply proved at the polls.
“We therefore join the call for the APC and the president-elect to act justly and fairly by zoning the position of the Senate President to the region that gave him more than 30 per cent of his winning votes.
Danbatta, while responding to a question on religious balance in the governance structure of the country, dismissed it as unconstitutional.
“I don’t think there is any provision in the constitution that says so, so position should be given to Christians and so, so position should be given to Muslims.
“Our position is based on constitutional provision”, he said.
