‘Make sacrifices for Nigeria’ — pro-Jonathan group asks Yari, Kalu to support Akpabio

The Citizens Network For Peace and Development in Nigeria (CNPDN), a support group of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has asked Abdulaziz Yari and Orji Uzor Kalu to drop their aspirations and support Godswill Akpabio to become the senate president.

In the build-up to the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election, the group had wanted Jonathan to run for a final term of office on the ruling party’s ticket.

Yari, a former governor of Zamfara, and Kalu, current chief whip of the senate, had declared their intentions to run for senate president.

However, the APC nominated Akpabio, a former minister of Niger Delta affairs, to be senate president.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Francis Okereke Wainwei, CNPDN’s national secretary, said Yari, Kalu, and other senators-elect aspiring to be senate president should sacrifice their ambition for the good of the country.

Wainwei said Akpabio would unify the country as senate president.

“It is our strong opinion that the ruling party and the president-elect have made the best choices for the leadership positions of the 10th national assembly,” he said.

“Therefore, the aggrieved aspirants for the same leadership positions should forget about their plans to revolt against the ruling party and accept the choices of the party in good faith and work for the collective interest of the party, which is aimed at promoting national cohesion and development.

“This is because we don’t want to experience what happened in 2011 and 2015, where such revolts led to acrimonious relationships between the national assembly and the executive, that greatly slowed down the pace of governance and negatively affected the effectiveness of those administrations.

“Let the lawmakers-elect shun selfish and parochial interests and align themselves with the choices of the ruling party and the president-elect, to enable the new administration to start on a solid and formidable foundation.

“We are therefore using this medium to further call on all patriotic senators-elect and all other aspirants for the senate presidency, especially, His Excellency, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, His Excellency, Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari and Sen Osita Izunaso to drop their ambitions and support Sen Akpabio to emerge as the senate president of the 10th senate for the betterment of the country.”