For the consideration of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, the governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have recommended a zoning mechanism for the selection of the presiding and senior officers of the 10th session of the National Assembly.
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) advocated that the Speaker of the House of Representatives be zoned to either the North-west or the North-central areas, and that the Senate President be zoned to either the South-east or South-south regions.
They also proposed that the positions of Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chief Whip, and Deputy Chief Whip of both should be used as compensation for those that may be asked to step down from running for the four presiding officers’ positions.
According to a memo circulated, the governors reached the decisions at a meeting held on 8 April.
“The President-Elect, Vice President-Elect, and the National Working Committee of the APC need to meet urgently with the PGF and APC Caucuses of the National Assembly under the auspices of National Caucus and NEC to debate and adopt a zoning formula for the leadership of the two Houses.
“The PGF met in plenary and proposes the following as basis for consideration of the President-Elect and the Party:
a. Senate President – South-East or South-South or North-Central
b. Deputy Senate President – North-Central or North-West
c. Speaker of the House – North-Central or North-West
d. Deputy Speaker of the House – South-East or South-South
“Other principal officer positions may be offered by the Party to compensate those that may be required to withdraw from the races or step down include:
a. Majority Leader
b. Deputy Majority Leader
c. Chief Whip, and
d. Deputy Chief Whip
“Above for your consideration and expedited action please,” the memo said.
The governors agreed to forward the memo, signed by the PGF Chairman and Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, to Mr Tinubu for “expedited action”.
However, it is not clear if the memo has been sent to the president-elect who is currently in Europe