The Northwest Progressive Forum (NPF) has hinted that the Northwestern region will field a candidate despite the current permutations that it has been zoned to the South South.
It said,”We find it ridiculous that even a zone that contributed a meagre 1.4% is finding it convenient to seek the Senate presidency.
In a news conference in Kaduna on Sunday, the Convener of the group Nasir Dambatta noted that it is important to point out here that the North generally played a vital role in the electoral victory of the Asiwaju and the All Progressives Congress.
In particular, he posited that the North West is on record as providing the highest percentage of votes of over 30% than any other geopolitical zone in the country.
He said out of the votes per zone, the North West gave the president-elect 30.0%, South West: 25.9%, North Central: 20.0%, -North East: 13.5%,-South-South: 9.10%, and South East: 1.45%.
“How can the president-elect come from the South West and the position of the Senate President to be zoned to South-South?
“As far as we are concerned, the president-elect has not come out to speak on it neither his spoke men. He declared those who spoke that the Senate presidency is zoned to South-South are promoting their interest.
The forum also insisted that the Northwest will field a candidate and they have not shifted their ground on the former Zamfara state governor, who they said enjoys tremendous support in the zone
NPF then called on the President-elect to resist the temptation to be unduly dragged into a situation that will pitch him against the interest of his most reliable ally, the North-west and especially the North-west.
“We call on regional agitators from the South to reconsider their position and embrace the decent rule of fairness and balance, which gives the North-west and indeed the North-west, the legitimacy to claim the Senate presidential slot.
“We finally call on the President-elect, the APC, and all critical stakeholders everywhere in the country to eschew personal parochial interest and accept that the North and especially North-west is most eligible for the No. 3 position is also the second functional office after the presidency,” Dambatta said.
