A group of Kwara State indigenes, operating under the aegis of the Young Quintessential Professionals, has urged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to support the ambition of Senator Bukola Saraki to become the next Senate President.

The group, in a statement by its Coordinator, Mr. Tajudeen Asaolu, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday, argued that the former governor of Kwara State, deserved to be compensated with the position given the role he played in the merger arrangement that led to the formation of the APC.

“Senator Saraki played a great role in ensuring that the aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party, which operated under ‘new PDP’, effectively led five sitting governors and about 11 senators to join the APC,” it said.

The group argued that Saraki became a rallying point at the senate and ensured that the defecting senators remained intact and resolute despite all attempts by the senate leadership to frustrate their defection on the floor of the upper federal legislature.

The group added that apart from the Congress for Progressive Change, led by the President-elect, Maj. Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); and the Action Congress of Nigeria, led by Bola Tinubu, the ‘new PDP’ formed the third major bloc that gave the APC a major boost.

The statement read in part, “The defunct CPC and ACN has been adequately compensated with the office of the President and the Vice -President respectively while the ‘new PDP’ where Saraki played a significant role has not been allocated any position.

“We believe that it was proper and normal in the interest of fairness, equity and justice that the position of the Senate President should be zoned to a ranking senator, who is a member of the ‘new PDP’, from the North Central geo-political zone.”

Meanwhile, some members of the APC in the senate from the North-East geo-political zone have expressed confidence that the party’s leadership will compensate them with either the senate presideny or the speakership of the House of Representatives.

The senators, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that apart from their region being the most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency, it had been denied the opportunity to produce either the president or leadership of the National Assembly since 1999.

They noted that the only time the region came close to being relevant at the federal level was when Atiku Abubakar was elected as vice president to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Senator Ali Ndume, (APC, Borno South) in an interview, said the APC leadership was aware of the massive support it received from the North-East and expressed confidence that the region would be duly compensated in the sharing of political offices at the federal level.