Senate presidency: I won’t withdraw for anybody, says Orji Kalu
Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu has said he will not withdraw his bid for the Senate presidency.
Kalu said this while speaking with journalists at the National Assembly, Abuja on Tuesday.
There has been mounting pressure on other aspirants vying for the Senate presidency position to withdraw from the race and support the choice of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC leadership have picked Godswill Akpabio and Jibrin Barau as preferred candidates for both the Senate President and deputy respectively.
Abdul’aziz Yari, a former Zamfara governor and a frontline contender, had said the zoning formula was unconstitutional and does not favour the North.
Kalu said he is talk with Yari for an alliance and their decisions would soon be made public.
“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 presidency. 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.“
The former Abia governor said the sponsors will come together to decide what direction the partnership will be.
He said he and Yari are thinking of the integrity of the Senate and support President Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
