ACF denies endorsing Kalu for Senate Presidency
A powerful northern based-group , the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has denied ever endorsing former governor of Abia State, Sen.Orji Uzor Kalu as its preferred candidate for the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly.
A member of the forum Alhaji Musa Saidu said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Saidu’s statement is a reaction to a statement credited to Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the leader of the Arewa Youth Conservative Forum (AYCF) which claimed that the ACF had endorsed Kalu for the position.
“I want to say without fear of contradiction, that the ACF has no youth wing and there was no time that we sat to make Shettima the AYCF leader.
“The whole thing is false.
“The ACF has not endorsed Kalu as the next Senate President, because we have our own ways of doing things.
“It is shocking to hear Shettima asking Sen. Abdulaziz Yari to step down for Kalu in the race for Senate Presidency,” he said.
Saidu, also the leader of the Arewa Community in Southern Nigeria, said that the ACF would have preferred that the position be zoned to the North because of its contribution to the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the Febuary 25 election.
“The North contributed the highest votes for Tinubu in the presidential election, so we can’t just endorse candidates from other zones for the Senate Presidency.
“How can we work for Tinubu to become president and then turn around to start campaigning for other zones to become Senate President.
“In fact the Vice-President slot given to the North is just like a spare tyre, everybody in Nigeria knows that the position has no much value.
“Since the North West gave Tinubu the highest votes, then it should be given the Senate Presidency, the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is too small for the zone,” he said.
Saidu added: ”It is a payback time for the North, so it should be given the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly.
“For fairness and justice, the North should be considered for the Senate Presidency and Sen. Abdulaziz Yari should be endorsed for the position.”
The choice of becomes the Senate President in the 10th National Assembly has been mired in controversy with the ruling party the All Progressives Congress (APC) having problem resolving the issue.
The senate president is the number three man and second in the line of succession after the vice president. So, he is not just another senator.
Several ranking and, surprisingly, new senators including former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, former Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State; and Senators Osita Izunaso, Orji Kalu, Abdul-Aziz Yari, Jibrin Barau, and Godswill Akpabio, among a few others had signified interest in leading the senate.
