Date: 2015-05-23

Senate minority leader Goerge Akume has insisted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot afford to discard power sharing arrangement ahead of the election of principal officers of the National Assembly.

Akume, who is a frontline contender for the post of the Senate President, told journalists in Abuja yesterday that not only APC, but Nigeria is structured on the political architecture of zoning.

APC National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun, national leaders Sen. Bola Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande had at separate times said the party will not zone presiding and principal positions of the National Assembly.

However, Akume insisted that the idea of zoning was first introduced in Nigeria in the second republic to give a sense of belonging to disadvantaged and underrepresented groups in the country.

He warned that any attempt to scheme out northern Christians will confirm the "labelling" of the APC as a "Janjaweed" party by the opposition before and during the 2015 elections.

The former governor of Benue State also said he has no problems with national leaders of the APC, including Bola Tinubu, who had been Akume's political ally in the last eight years and was at the forefront for his bid to succeed David Mark as Senate President before switching his support to Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe State some weeks ago.

"We have done so much together with Asiwaju since we were governors. He has saved lives and we have no problem with each other," Akume said. He maintained that as far as he knows, the APC has not taken a decision as to whether it will zone National Assembly positions or not.

Akume is gunning for the senate presidency together with senators Ahmad Lawan (Yobe), Ali Ndume (Borno), and Bukola Saraki from Kwara State. He, however, said as a loyal party member, he will abide by any decision taken by the APC.