The meeting, according to a senator-elect who was in attendance, was convened by two ranking senators-elect from the North-West geopolitical zone.
The source told ThisNigeria strictly on conditions of anonymity because the outcome was not meant for public consumption yet, that 39 out of the 58 newly elected senators across the North attended the meeting which was held in Abuja.
•Ask Tinubu to resolve same fate ticket balancing with appointments
He said the senators-elect insisted that the North deserve the number three position in the country because the region delivered the highest number of votes for the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election.
He said his colleagues also agreed to hold an expanded meeting that would involve all the 58 elected senators from the three geopolitical zones of Nigeria in the second week of May.
The elected senators, he added, said they would engage their counterparts from the Southern part of the country on the need to support their aspiration.
He said, “Part of the reasons my colleagues decided to produce the Senate President was because Tinubu and his associates were trying to reward zones that performed poorly in the last presidential election with the exalted number three position in the land.
“The President-elect did not consult us before he picked a Muslim as his running mate. He should know how to balance the religious and ethnic imbalance he already created with appointments to the executive offices.
“The parliament is a separate and unique arm of government. So Tinubu should not tinker with the election of our presiding officers.”
It will be recalled that Tinubu had asked the leadership of the APC to consider zoning the Senate Presidency to either the South-South or the South-East geopolitical zones where the duo of Senators Godswill Akpabio and Orji Uzor Kalu are the main contenders.
Part of their resolution at the northern senators-elect meeting which was made available to ThisNigeria yesterday, read, “Northern senators-elect met today Sunday, April 30, 2023, and deliberated amongst themselves across party lines. Before the meeting was adjourned the Senator’s elect agreed to the following resolutions.
“That such meeting should be expanded by extending an invitation to all elected senators from the three geo-political zones of North-Central, North-East, and North-West to attend the next meeting.
“The senators all agreed to work together irrespective of party, religion, or zonal affiliations in the clamour for effective leadership in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“That the senators-elect all have agreed that the President of the Senate shall emerge from the Northern part of the country.
“It should be on record the Northern part of the country contributed more votes to the victory of APC in the 2023 general elections hence the need to have the office of the President of the Senate of the 10th Assembly.
“That the Northern senators agreed to mutually extend its cooperation with its southern counterparts in providing good governance in Nigeria as an essential tool to its stability and growth.”
The source added that the Forum had also delegated two of its ranking members to meet with the President-elect to relay their resolutions to him.
He said another meeting which would be a continuous one, had been rescheduled for Sunday.
Meanwhile, northern stakeholders across party and religious divides were also said to be planning to convene a meeting to deliberate over the choice of the Senate President and Deputy Senate President of the 10th Senate.
Our correspondent learnt that the stakeholders comprising senators-elect, and traditional and religious stalwarts from the North had agreed to meet and brainstorm on the development.
The date had not been fixed, but a credible source told ThisNigeria in Abuja yesterday that the meeting would either be held in Kaduna or Abuja before the end of the week.
The source said while some of the critical stakeholders were insisting on supporting a northern senator as Senate President, others had already zeroed in on the Senate Chief Whip and his Niger East Senator colleague as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively.
The third group, he added, seemed to have aligned with the position of the strategists of the President-elect, who are scheming for the adoption of either Senator Godswill Akpabio or Adams Oshiomhole as Senate President and Barau Jibrin as Deputy Senate President.
Tinubu, according to a source who craved anonymity, had during the week accepted that the APC would leave open the senate presidency of the incoming 10th National Assembly to the South.
The development, it was learnt, formed the details of what transpired at the last meeting with the President-elect, the leadership of the APC, and some National Assembly members.
On the same note, the majority of senators-elect had insisted that the office must be openly zoned to the entire southern region with no particular preference for any zone.
Many, however, expressed their confidence in the duo of returning Senators Orji Kalu and Sani Musa to man the offices of the President and Deputy Senate President of the National Assembly.
A member of the National Working Committee of the APC from the North who spoke on conditions of anonymity revealed that there was still disagreement among the northern stakeholders on who becomes the Senate President.
He said the stakeholders are expected to reach a truce on the issue on a yet-to-be-decided date.
It was learnt that some stakeholders still want the North to produce the Senate President while others are willing to concede the office to South East.
It is believed that the nation’s tripod (Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba) should be considered for the sake of peace and unity of the country.
The NWC member said, “The South-East may have been ignored in the past and we do not want a situation whereby the incoming government will be faced with a lot of challenges.
“The political consciousness and awareness in today’s Nigeria should not be overlooked. We know we gave the votes but peaceful governance should also be considered.
“We will meet and take decisions on the President-elect’s decision. We are not against his Choice of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Senator Sani Musa as President and Deputy President respectively because both of them are acceptable to all Nigerians considering their character and personality.
“We will also want the President-elect to take serious measures to appreciate the North West for their contribution, the source disclosed.”
Another ranking senator-elect who pleaded anonymity said the meeting of the stakeholders would help the North to move in unison.
He said, “It is expected that every region will fight for their interest to be protected in the incoming administration.”
