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Senate presidency: Trouble for Akpabio as Kalu confirms alliance with Yari

Opposition against endorsed aspiration of Senator Godswill Akpabio for Presidency of the 10th Senate thickened Tuesday May 30, 2023 with confirmation from Senator Orji Uzor Kalu on working alliance with Abdulaziz Yari who is also running for the position.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had about four weeks ago, announced Senator Akpabio as preferred candidate for Presidency of the 10th Senate and Jibrin Barau for Deputy President of the Senate.

But fielding questions from Journalists before plenary on Tuesday, Senator Kalu who is also eying the plum seat, said he is still in the race and infact, in working alliance with another aspirant, Abdulaziz Yari from Zamfara State.

He said, “I won’t step down for anybody. We are talking with governor Yari. Our group and his group are talking, intimate talk and partnership. We will make sure that no one zone can produce the senate presidency.

“Like I used to tell people, no one zone can produce the president of Nigeria. What we are trying to do with senator Yari is a united partnership that will work for Nigeria. In the coming days or weeks, that partnership will be unveiled, so we are in serious talks.

“I cannot deny it – Yari is a friend of mine and I’m his friend and we have decided to talk. We have been speaking for the past four weeks and the result will be unveiled by our sponsors, he has his sponsors and I have my sponsors.

“So the sponsors will come together to decide what direction this partnership will be. I’ll be very happy to reveal what the sponsors will say. Two of us are thinking of the integrity of the senate and support President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima who were our colleagues. If you are thinking that what happened during Saraki’s time, it will never happen again.

‘We won’t disappoint Nigerians. We are capable of representing ourselves – Yari-Kalu – Kalu-Yari – we won’t disappoint Nigerians. We will give Nigerians what they require and the Nigerian people won’t be disappointed.”

Aside politics of leadership of the 10th Senate, Senator Kalu at the media chat tasked President Bola Tinubu-led administration, to revive all the steel mills in Nigeria and discard government agencies performing duplicated functions.

He specifically called for scrapping of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to allow the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), perform its functions without any inhibition.

NDDC according to him, going by the Act that established it, is suppose to report to Presidency directly and not through any ministry .

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