Mr Tinubu and the APC are reportedly backing some aspirants for the leadership positions of the National Assembly.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, have come under attack over the proposed zoning arrangement for the leadership of the National Assembly.
Two groups, on Sunday, rejected the reported adoption of a zoning arrangement by the president-elect and the party, saying it is a clear marginalisation of the North-central region.
They called for the review of the zoning of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in particular.
Mr Tinubu reportedly backed Godswill Apabio (South-south) and Barau Jibrin (North-west) for the senate president and deputy respectively.
He also allegedly settled for Tajudeen Abbas (North-west) and Ben Kalu (South-east) as speaker and deputy speaker respectively.
The reported adoption of the four aspirants leaves out the North-central zone in the zoning arrangement.
No fewer than three aspirants from the zone have shown interest in the House of Representatives speakership position. They are the incumbent Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase and Yusuf Gagdi, who are both from Plateau State and Olatunji Raheem, a lawmaker from Kwara State.
Mr Tinubu and the party have yet to officially announce this arrangement, which is already generating reactions, particularly from the North-central.
A group of former lawmakers from the region, on Sunday, rejected the proposed zoning of the speaker and deputy senate president to the North-west.
They warned that such an arrangement will lead to the marginalisation of the North-central.
They specifically kicked against the zoning of the position of the speaker to the North-west.
Idris Yakuku, a former member of the fourth Assembly (1999-2003), who spoke on behalf of the group, argued that the proposed arrangement on zoning gives the North-west more than they deserve.
"Reports reaching us indicate that the position of Senate President in the 10th National Assembly has been zoned to the South-south geopolitical zone, while the position of Deputy Senate President would go to the North-west zone.
"We noted that when this position was made public, stakeholders across the country accepted it with equanimity and calmness due to its inclusion of other zones not yet captured in the top hierarchy of governance in the next administration.
"But to our utter shock and consternation, we learnt that the position of the speaker of the House of Representatives has again also been zoned to the North-west while the position of Deputy Speaker is still being considered.
"A region is given more than their fair share if this lopsided template of giving the Deputy Senate Presidency and Speakership to the North-west is implemented," he said.
Mr Yakubu, who was flanked by about a dozen of former lawmakers, urged the president-elect to review the arrangement or the region may be forced to consider other alternatives.
He also called for the intervention of the Chairman of the party, Abdulahi Adamu, who is from the North-central.
North-central zone outperformed North-west in polls
The ex-lawmaker also reminded Mr Tinubu of the contribution of the North-central geopolitical zone, noting that the zone outperformed the North-west zone.
"Worse still, out of seven states, the APC presidential candidate won only in three states of the North-west losing significant numbers in swing states like Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Katsina while in the North-central, he won overwhelmingly in its swing states of Niger, Benue and Kogi.
"Most worrisome is the fact that it is Kaduna State, where the APC performed woefully by losing the three Senate seats and 11 of the 16 House of Representatives seats that are being considered for the Speaker position," he said.
Mr Yakubu claimed that the proposed arrangement may not be from the president-elect, but from some people around him that want to impose cronies.
Pro-Wase group demands APC NEC's intervention
Meanwhile, a group supporting Mr Wase in the contest has called for the intervention of the National Executive Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to review the proposed template for zoning of the presiding officers of the National Assembly.
The group, under the aegis of North-central APC Stakeholders, made the call on Sunday during a separate press briefing in Abuja.
They stated that there are indications that the NEC of the party, the highest decision-making body of the party, will meet in the coming days, and they expect the body to intervene.
Dominic Alancha, who spoke on behalf of the group, said the ruling party risks a repeat of the 8th Assembly, where Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, successfully revolted against the choices of the party.
They, however, stated that the 2015 option has not been considered because consultations are ongoing.
The group argued that the North-west has not done enough to warrant taking two key positions at the expense of the North-central.
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"The APC failed to secure the key states in the North-west like Kaduna, Kano and Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto in the presidential elections which usually bring the deciding votes winning only Zamfara and Jigawa of the seven states in the zone.
"The picture is even worse with the parliamentary elections where the APC lost majority seats in Kano with the NNPP clearing 18 out of the 24 House of Representatives seats in the state while in Kaduna, the APC lost all the three senatorial and 11 seats out of the 16 seats for House of Representatives to the PDP," he said.
The group noted that the reported zoning arrangement appears to be a deliberate "act of provocation to the North-central zone which has contributed so much to the success of the APC as a party and to the victory of President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu."
Harvest of aspirants
So far, there are 11 aspirants in the race for the speakership of the House.
Other contenders for the position include Sada Soli (Katsina), Muktar Betara (Borno), Abubakar Makki (Jigawa), Aminu Jaji (APC, Zamfara), Ado Doguwa (Kano) and Miriam Onuoha ( Imo).
Mr Gagdi on Saturday officially joined the race, and called for the zoning of the position to North-central, while Muktar Betara, an aspirant from Borno State, will declare his intention on Monday.
