We won’t compromise merit to pick N’Assembly leaders, says Tinubu

NATIONAL Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, yesterday assured that merit and competence would not be compromised in order to ensure zoning arrangement.

Fielding questions from reporters after a meeting with the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, at the Defence House in Abuja, he said he would not go against the position of the party on the issue of selecting the leadership of the National Assembly.

According to him: “You have heard from the party, you have heard from leadership, my desire is not to rock the party, I’m a disciplined party man and we will look at it critically. However, the nation is expecting us to take a decisive leadership decision and make one meritoriously. Merit will not be compromised, you have to be competent, you have to possess the kind of character, attributes to the leadership, we have to be pan-Nigerian and be a very solid character to lead the National Assembly and that is what we are talking about.”

Asked whether his position does not tantamount to jettisoning the zoning arrangement, he said: “I am not to speak, not to go further on that, I believe we have a very determined party leadership. We have resolved to follow our leadership and the criteria set by that leadership including myself. We would not use zoning to determine and compromise the credibility, the qualification of an individual. It must be all encompassing and that is the question, if you take zoning as detrimental, discriminatory in some instances, you might compromise the quality of an individual.

“Let everybody aspire, just like we aspired, your cynicism, no matter what, so you predicted during our presidential primaries that we are going to run into chaotic storm. We put those people to shame and we came out with the best, expect the best from us always.”