APC Leadership Moves To Douse Religious, Tribal Tension As Tinubu Set To Meet Lawmakers

As the battle for who will make up the leadership of the 10th National Assembly heats up, the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to meet with high-profile members of the National Assembly made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Naija News had reported that the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will officially release the power-sharing formula among the six geopolitical zones of the country.

During the meeting with lawmaker, Bola Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, is expected to make decisions on issues raised by the lawmakers as to the factors to be considered before allocating the offices.

A source told Vanguard that the factors included a balance of power and avoidance of a Muslim-Muslim national assembly leadership, appeasing the “most marginalized zones” and the zones where Tinubu got huge votes in the last presidential election.

The meeting between Tinubu and the lawmakers is expected to hold after the members-elect converge on Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday to collect their certificate of return from the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Religious And Tribal Tensions

According to the source, the APC National Working Committee (NWC) is working to zone the Senate Presidency to the Southeast as part of moves to pacify the people of the region.

The source also said that the North Central and the South-south have also been positioned to produce the Deputy Senate President and Deputy Speaker House of Representatives respectively in other to douse religious and tribal tensions in the country.

The source said: “There is tension already and the party is determined to reduce it by doing its best to zone its offices beginning with the Senate Presidency to the Southeast, arrangements have been concluded to meet with our President-elect Bola Tinubu on this matter.

“Since 2015, the distribution of leadership positions by the APC has not been balanced and we are committed to correcting it with the 10th Assembly. So far, we are in the majority with 57 senatorial seats. ()

“During our party primaries, the Southeast didn’t get the support of the party to produce the flag bearer. This didn’t go down well with them. Now, this is another opportunity to prove to Nigerians that we are a party for all.

“Although the decision lies with the leadership of our party and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, but the NWC are on the same page with regards to this matter and our President-elect is a listener who loves to carry every one along regardless of tribe or religion and he understands how marginalized the Southeast has been in the scheme of things. By the time we meet him, I’m sure he will see reasons to support our cause.”