Jonathan, VP, govs back Mark as Senate President
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- Category: Politics
- Published on Wednesday, 11 May 2011 08:49
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President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo and many governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took the decision yesterday after a meeting in Abuja. Also at the meeting, chaired by Jonathan, were members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
The meeting resolved that the North-Central, where Mark hails from, should produce the number three citizen while the South-West should produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives. An indigene of the South-East will be made the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
The chairmanship of the party will be retained in the North-East.
It was reliably gathered that the party argued that for stability to continue in the National Assembly, the present status quo should be maintained and in doing this, a South-West Muslim should be the Speaker while a Muslim member from the North-East should be the Deputy Speaker.
Senators, including old and new, have been holding meetings at the Apo Legislative Quarters at the end of which they passed vote of confidence on Mark and that the zone has concluded that they would support him again.
The senators at the meeting, it was reliably gathered, included Senator Smart Adeyemi, Senator Zainab Kure, Senator-elect Abdullahi Adamu, Senator Abatemi and Senator Philip Aduda.
Their argument is that he is the most experienced in the Senate and that his experience has, to a great extent, stabilised the Senate, therefore there is need for continuity.
They promised to give him their block vote because he has demonstrated that he could control the Senate perfectly well.
In the House, the three contenders to the speakership from the South-West have commenced serious campaign.
They are Mulikat Adeola Akande, Muriana Ajibola and Tajudeen Abisodun. They are PDP members from Oyo State. They are also Muslims.
The campaign has sharply divided members, both the old and the new, as the interest groups have intensified campaigns for their candidates.
Also yesterday, the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) threw its weight behind Mark.
The governors said that their support was based on the excellent work Mark did for four years.
The NGF, in a communique issued at the end of its emergency meeting held in Abuja, also said that it fully supported the zoning of other National Assembly positions by the PDP leadership.
The meeting, attended by no fewer than 10 of the 19 Northern Governors, condemned the post election crisis in some northern states that left scores of people dead.
The NGF resolution, which was read by the Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, enjoined all the incoming governors to engender peace and progress in the region.
Two other contenders for the position of the Senate President, Governors Danjuma Goje (Gombe) and Bukola Saraki (Kwara), were absent at the meeting. (Compass News)
