[UPDATE] NASS leadership: Northern group endorses Yari as Senate President

A northern political pressure group, the North-West Progressives Forum has endorsed a former Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, as the Senate President of the 10th Senate.

This was as the group cautioned the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, not allowed politicians from other geopolitical zones of the country to ambush him over the Senate presidency seat.

Convener of the group, Nasir Dambatta, at a press conference in Kaduna on Saturday, said the North-West zone that gave the All Progressives Congress the highest votes in the last presidential election, deserved the Senate President’s slot.

“We want the next Senate President to come the Northwest and our candidate is a former Zamfara State governor and ex-Nigerian Governors Forum’s chairman, Abdulaziz Yari,” he said.

According to him, it will only be fair and just that the slot(Senate Presidency) of the 10th Senate be allocated to the Northwest, the region that gave the President-elect more than 30% of votes in the last election.

Dambatta added that the group was of the belief that should the Senate Presidency slot eventually be micro-zoned to the North-West, “the person that is eminently competent for the job is former Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari.”

He added, “We are aware of the several moves and counter-manoeuvres by regionalist political actors seeking to replace their respective zones at an 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 legitimate 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, 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.

“We feel obligated, after considering so many factors, to suggest that when eventually the slot is micro-zoned to the North-West, the person that is eminently competent for the job is former Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari,” he 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.”