He stated this while speaking with newsmen in Kano to dismiss calls by the New Nigeria Peoples Party spokesman and Reps-elect, Abdulmumin Kofa, who condemned allotting the Senate presidency seat to the north as a disservice to the nation.
The APC chieftain explained that it is only democratic for the party’s leadership to ensure that the seat for the Senate presidency comes to the northwest and to Kano, the political heartbeat of the North.
He explained that the APC, despite the votes it had contributed to the election of the president-elect, Bola Ahmad Tinubu, has only one senator, Sen Barau Jibrli, in Kano State and not make him the Senate president will affect the strength and control of the region by the party.
He described the call by the NNPP as deliberately geared towards seizing control of the region by disallowing the APC to have a strong political leadership like the Senate president from there.
He, therefore, called on the APC leadership to ensure that Jibril mounts the Senate president seat in order to form a rallying point for the party in the northwest in particular and the north at large.
“Why this response is very important is that I heard my friend and brother from the NNPP, Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa, who has just been elected as member House of Reps saying that any candidate from the North, especially the Muslim North, that aspires to lead the National Assembly, especially the Senate, has no love for Nigeria.
“I want to open this discussion to clearly reveal what is behind the discussion. I believe that is unfair for a minority party to basically come in and dictate to the APC what to do.
“But very importantly we need to look at the motive behind this statement. We know that Jibrin is from NNPP and the NNPP leader is from Kano and Kano is the heartbeat of north-western politics as well as northern Nigeria.
“So, what they are trying to do is to strategically convince APC not to put a political leader in that space so that they can monopolise the politics of the region. We can see their plans.”
Continuing, he said the presidency has gone to our partners in the Southwest, the vice presidency has gone to their partners in the Northeast, and the largest voting block and the largest political block deserves the presidency of the Senate.
“Therefore, if NNPP people are saying that you don’t love Nigeria if you say you are giving us the Senate presidency, it is just a strategy to mobilise and have the entire Northwest to themselves which is a very important block.
He called on the APC leadership, particularly the National Chairman of the APC, the president-elect, to look at what the president has outlined as a government of national competence, and when we look at competence, we will not go beyond our senatorial presentation in Kano in the person of Sen Barau Jibril” he stated.
On those from other geopolitical regions he called on them to work hard for the party and they shall be recognized and rewarded.
“Some people talk about fairness and equity in terms of politics. I want to highlight this, democracy has a principal rule; this rule is about participation.
“You cannot participate and then ask for a reward. The people that are asking for a reward, we are asking them to galvanise themselves, organise themselves in the next election and contribute to the success of the party.
“So, you cannot basically deny the party votes and when the party is basically and equitably and fairly sharing its positions you now say because of national unity, you want to take the critical position.
“All I’m saying to our brothers in other regions is 2027 is not far away, go back, work hard, join us to make success of the next election and you will get your fair share of reward and recognition” he added.
