The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has denied claims that it endorsed former Abia State Governor, Sen.Orji Uzor Kalu for the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly.
The reaction followed a statement credited to the leader of the Arewa Youth Conservative Forum, AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, claiming that Kalu was the preferred candidate of ACF.
One of its members, Alhaji Musa Saidu, in a statement on Monday said the claim was false, adding that the Forum had no youth wing.
“I want to say without fear of contradiction, that the ACF has no youth wing and there was no time that we sat to make Shettima the AYCF leader. The whole thing is false.
“The ACF has not endorsed Kalu as the next Senate President, because we have our own ways of doing things. It is shocking to hear Shettima asking Sen. Abdulaziz Yari to step down for Kalu in the race for Senate Presidency,” he said.
Saidu further said rather than support Kalu, ACF would prefer a candidate from the North because of its contribution to the victory of President Bola Tinubu at the presidential polls.
“The North contributed the highest votes for Tinubu in the presidential election, so we can’t just endorse candidates from other zones for the Senate Presidency.
“How can we work for Tinubu to become president and then turn around to start campaigning for other zones to become Senate President?
“In fact the Vice-President slot given to the North is just like a spare tyre, everybody in Nigeria knows that the position has not much value.
“Since the North West gave Tinubu the highest votes, then it should be given the Senate Presidency, the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is too small for the zone,” he said.
According to Saidu, ”It is a payback time for the North, so it should be given the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly.
“For fairness and justice, the North should be considered for the Senate Presidency and Sen. Abdulaziz Yari should be endorsed for the position.”