Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has declared his intention to contest for Senate presidency in the 10th National Assembly.

He, however, urged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to kindly zone the position to his Igbere country home in Abia State.

Kalu, who has won re-election to represent Abia North in the Red Chamber, was the first aspirant to declare his interest in the number three position.

He made the declaration while briefing journalists at the National Assembly complex on Tuesday.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) maintained a majority in the Senate, having secured 57 seats.

APC ranking senators who are eying the position, are Sani Musa (Niger), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Barau Jibrin (Kano), and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi). Senate presidency and had started lobbying their colleagues to seek their support.

The party is expected to announce its position any moment from now.

APC leadership said it has not zoned the Senate presidency.

Kalu explained that it was his turn to become Senate President being a ranking lawmaker and from the South East.

He said, “If I’m elected Senate President, I will be team Nigeria. I’m going to work for every corner of Nigeria.

“I schooled in Maiduguri, Borno State. I started my business in Lagos and spread it across all state capitals. My first name will be team Nigeria, my last name will be team Nigeria. Remember, I’m the only former governor who has never changed phone lines more than 20 years ago.

“I’m still willing to maintain that telephone number to answer all my calls. I’m not going to switch off my phones because I’m Senate President. I’m hoping that Nigerians will pray for me to become Senate President because it’s my turn.”

Kalu rejected the idea of having a Muslim as a Senate President in the 10th National Assembly saying he won’t be comfortable with such an arrangement.

He said, “I will not be comfortable with a Muslim Senate President because this is a secular state. In a secular state, we need to accommodate interests, nations, and spread to be able to maintain the secularity of our country.

“To me, like I told you, people, the truth here before, that I believe in the Muslim-Muslim ticket. I would not believe in another Senate President being a Muslim. It will not augur well for the country.”

LP officially challenges Tinubu’s victory as president-elect

*Niger Delta youths push for North-Central

However, a group of young Nigerians from the various oil-producing communities in the country have urged the President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to consider a ranking senator from the North Central geopolitical zone as the next Senate President.

The Niger Delta Progressive Youths Frontiers appealed in an open letter to Tinubu, signed by its Secretary General, Oyinemi Nicholas Endeley, and made available to journalists in Abuja.

The group explained that aspirants from other parts of Nigeria apart from the North Central, selfishly worked for themselves in the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections because they got higher votes for themselves compared to what the president got in their senatorial districts.

Part of their statement reads, “As laid out above, it is no gainsaying that one region exceptionally stood out and that is the North Central.

“A region that has been marginalised for decades and crying for a President of North Central extraction, yet standing very strong in solidarity with you when the need arose.

“The region for long has been described in previous elections as the swing region, swung to your direction and in your favour. They deserve the first right of refusal to any key office under your administration.

“That is why it is scandalously laughable to see groups come out to demand that the office of the Senate President be zoned to their region. This unholy demand, to say the least, smacks of greed and an unnecessary sense of entitlement.

“It is even more ridiculous, shameful, and myopic on the part of these political orphans who rather than making frantic efforts to be putting their home fronts in order are busy scheming for political offices when they made no significant contribution to the actualisation of your dream of the Presidency.

“The President-elect sir, four years is like four days, and the most expedient and reasonable thing to do is to consolidate on your victory, reward zones and people for their hard work and competence.

“The reason is not far-fetched, this is Nigeria, even if you turn some states and regions to El Dorado, the majority of them will never see you as their President, and that is the truth. So while you do your best in transforming Nigeria, it is very pertinent that you know your base and reward your base.

“Finally, the most delicate and sensitive position up for grabs now is that of the Senate President and the race has started for the exalted seat.”