Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu, has insisted that he would not withdraw his bid for the presidency of the 10th senate.
There has been pressure on other aspirants to withdraw from the race and support the party’s choice.
President Bola Tinubu and APC leadership have picked Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North West) and Jibrin Barau (Kano North) as preferred candidates for Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively.
However, aggrieved aspirants have criticised the zoning arrangement and demanded a review.
A former governor of Zamfara State and one of the frontline contenders, Abdul’aziz Yari, had said the zoning formula was unconstitutional and skewed against the North.
But speaking with reporters at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, on Tuesday, Kalu insisted that he would not step down for Akpabio.
The Abia North senator said he is In talk with Yari for an alliance, adding that their decisions would soon be made public.
He said: “I won’t step down for anybody. We are talking with former Governor Yari. Our group and his group are talking, intimate talk and partnership.
“We will make sure that no one zone can produce the senate president. What we are trying to do with Senator Yari is a united partnership that will work for Nigeria.
“In the coming days or weeks, that partnership will be unveiled, so we are in serious talks. I cannot deny it.
“Yari is a friend of mine and I’m his friend and we have decided to talk. We have been speaking for the past four weeks and the result will be unveiled by our sponsors. He has his sponsors and I have my sponsors.
“So, the sponsors will come together to decide what direction this partnership will be. I’ll be very happy to reveal what the sponsors will say.
“Two of us are thinking of the integrity of the Senate and support President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, who were our colleagues. If you are thinking that what happened during Saraki’s time, it will never happen again.”
