A former northern governor has kicked against reports making the rounds that the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has chosen the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, and senator Jibrin Barau as Senate president and deputy respectively.
According to Daily Trust, credible sources disclosed that Tinubu who has picked Akpabio and Barau has communicated the development to both lawmakers.
The report claimed that Barau was asked to drop his bid for the Senate presidency in the interest of national cohesion, fairness and religious balancing.
The publication withholding the identity of the former governor, revealed that he questioned why Tinubu would sacrifice the north after all the past sacrifices they had made for him.
While the former governor condemned Tinubu’s choice of Akpabio for religious balancing, said the north gave Tinubu the party’s ticket and support so the region should not be treated as the second fiddle.
He said, “Yes, there is a need for sacrifice, but the North should not be second fiddle because of the need to placate some people who contributed almost nothing to the table.
“If there is something called sacrifice, it should go across the board; all the zones should be made to do the same.
“After sacrificing the presidency to promote national unity and peace, now they want to treat us as second fiddle. We won’t take this. We have made the first sacrifice. Let other regions do the same. The North gave Tinubu the party ticket and gave him the winning votes, so it is the turn of other zones to make sacrifices.
“Who told Barau that he should take it? First, he is a lawmaker from Kano State and a northerner. He is the northern candidate and cannot make a decision by himself. It is beyond him.
“We sacrificed the number one position and now they want us to let this go; it won’t happen. Yes, Asiwaju is a primary stakeholder, but there are people who lost their lives for him to win the presidency, especially in the North.”