Tinubu has no preferred candidates for National Assembly leadership, says Shettima

Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, says the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has said he has no preferred candidates for the leadership of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Shettima disclosed this at the meeting with new members-elect to the National Assembly in Abuja.

A member-elect for Bungudu/Maru Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, Abdulmalik Bungudu, revealed this to The Punch shortly after the meeting.

Bungudu, who spoke in the Hausa language, revealed that Tinubu told attendees that he had no preferred candidates for any of the principal offices of the 10th NASS.

He quoted Shettima as saying, “For now, he (Tinubu) said he doesn’t have anybody that he prefers to have as Senate President or Speaker, but consultations are going to continue to get the way out for the party and to also ensure the party emerges victorious in the forthcoming governorship and Houses of Assembly elections.”

Meanwhile, lawmakers newly elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, on Monday, in Abuja, said the party would zone principal offices only after the conclusion of the governorship and state Assembly elections holding on Saturday, March 18.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, among other lawmakers-elect, disclosed this to The Punch after a meeting between senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect with the party leadership held at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

The meeting, which comes barely two weeks after the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections, is the first between the newly-elected members of parliament and the party.

It followed rife speculations that the APC would use the medium to speedily zone principal offices in the two chambers of the 10th National Assembly to avert a repeat of the 2015 scenario where the party lost grip of the legislature despite retaining the most number of seats in both chambers.

However, the Speaker of the House, Gbajabiamila, told our correspondent that the conversation did not entail any discussion about the NASS leadership because the elections were not over.

Gbajabiamila said, “On the issue of zoning, we did not talk about it because we’re not there yet. We have an election coming up this weekend. And we need to ensure everybody goes back home, roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty.

“I was in Lagos and I could not leave Lagos because I was campaigning for my party.

“We’re not there yet; we need to complete the victory before we start talking about the leadership of the National Assembly. The reason we didn’t discuss zoning is because we all agreed to tarry for a while until we finish the elections.”