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A cross section of northern leaders are demanding that the region must produce the leadership of the 10th National Assembly given that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, are both from the southern part of the country.
The leaders representing the 19 northern states and drawn from the academics and political class argued that their demand for the North to head the legislative arm of the Federal Government was in line with Section 14(1), (2) and (3) of the 1999 constitution.
The northern leaders made the demand at a one-day round-table discussion in Kaduna state on Friday to review the region’s socioeconomic challenges and its contributions in Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 general elections.
The round-table, which drew participants from across the 19 northern states, had the theme ‘Nation-Building and Democracy, the Imperative of Participation, Equity and Equitable Development of Northern Nigeria’.
The aim, according to the conveners, was to identify some of the key socioeconomic challenges confronting the region, especially in the areas of education, agriculture and poverty index.
The Secretary of the northern leaders’ round-table, Dr Benjamin Dikki, stated that, based on the contribution of the North to Tinubu’s electoral success, the South as a whole should not expect to lead the National Assembly, since both the President-elect and judicial head are southerners.
For other participants, the progress and development of the northern region would depend on its stake in government, hence they ask the elected northern senators to contest for all the positions in the 10th National Assembly.
With the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in view, the northern leaders believe the region’s access to political power and economic incentives could only be achieved when it is part of the decision-making organ.
