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Senator Ifeanyi Ubah has criticised the president-elect, Bola Tinubu and the All progressives Congress (APC) for their involvement in the zoning of the leadership positions in the National Assembly.

Mr Ubah, who represents Anambra South District in the Senate, spoke when he appeared as a guest on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Monday night.

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The senator has won re-election in the just concluded general election.

The president-elect had picked former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio (South-south) and Barau Jibrin (North-west) for the senate president and deputy senate president respectively.

He also endorsed Tajudeen Abbas (North-west) and Ben Kalu (South-east) for speaker and deputy speaker respectively.

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Mr Ubah, a member of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), said the president-elect ought not to have meddled into the internal affairs of the Senate.

The senator also said Mr Tinubu and his party did not adequately consult with other senators-elect in making the decision to zone the leadership positions of the assembly.

“You don’t just enforce these things (leadership positions) on independent people. There should be a proper consultation. I think the ruling party (APC) did not get it right.

“Nobody is having anything against the president-elect, but he (Tinubu) shouldn’t have been part of this in the first place. He shouldn’t have come into this so quickly,” Mr Ubah said.

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Mr Ubah also faulted the zoning of the senate presidency position to the South-south by the APC, insisting that the South-east region deserves the position.

He said the region should be represented in the leadership of the country considering that the president-elect comes from the South-west and his vice-president-elect from the North-east.

“We need the senate presidency position in order to balance the equation,” he said.

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The YPP senator said the South-east caucus in the Senate was not consulted before the APC zoned the leadership positions in the 10th Senate.

He contended that the South-east was being marginalised in the distribution of leadership positions in the country, adding that there are capable senators-elect from the region that can lead the 10th Senate.

He listed Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu, and a former APC National Organising Secretary, Osita Izunaso, among senators-elect from the region capable of leading the Red Chamber.

He said the senators-elects from the region would meet to decide on picking a candidate for the position ahead of the inauguration of the 10th Senate in June.

“For me and our people from the South-east, we are still very strong in contesting for the office of the senate president of Nigeria for the 10th senate. That is our position for now,” he said, when asked if the region would drop their senate presidency ambition after the APC zoned it to the South-south.

Mr Ubah said members of the South-east caucus in the Senate would meet over the decision by the APC and inform the region of their resolution.

“But for now, as I am still in this studio, the position of the South-east caucus is that we are going to contest for the office of the Senate president of Nigeria. The Senate Presidency position should be zoned to the South-east or fairly zoned to the South.

“The only problem we are having is consultation. If there was a robust consultation among the people from the South by the ruling party, maybe we could have said we will give it back to the South-south. But there was no consultation. It is like they are saying there is nothing you people can do,” he stated.

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