Northern Elders Warn Against Imposition of Senate President

A northern socio-political organisation, under the aegis of the Northern Elders Forum, has warned against the imposition of the 10th Senate President, insisting that 109 senators-elect be allowed to choose their leaders.

This was disclosed as the northern elders cautioned that religion, either Islam or Christianity, should not be a deciding factor in who leads the 10th Senate. This came after the Vice President Kashim Shettima commented that the worst incompetent Southern Christian is better than the most puritanical Northern Muslim.

The NEF Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, while addressing a press conference in Kaduna, described the Vice President’s statement as “unfortunate,” saying that such utterances would have been avoided had the senators-elect been allowed to pick the Senate President of their choice

The organisation noted that it had repeatedly cautioned the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to respect the rights and privileges of elected members of the National Assembly to choose their leaders.