Former governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike charged those against the South-South zoning of the senate presidency with purposefully putting President Bola Tinubu at a disadvantage in the National Assembly.

Wike argued that anyone who loves the nation, believes in its unity, and wants the President Tinubu-led administration to succeed will make sure that the next Senate President is from the South-South as already decided by the President and the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

This was stated by the former Rivers State governor during a press conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

“There is something going on in the country now about the Senate presidency and the House leadership, and everybody knows my position. My position is that the (Senate) presidency should come to the South-South. We are not talking about the presidency of the country now, we are done with that.

“If you disagree that the (Senate) presidency should go to the south, tell me the truth, where should it go? It can’t be in the South-West. It can’t be in the South-East. South-South has only produced one Senate president, far back in 1979, Joseph Wayas. South-East has produced over seven.”

He emphasized that those opposed to President Tinubu’s presidential ambition are still hellbent on impeding him at the National Assembly by opposing his preferred choice of former Akwa Ibom State governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio, as the next Senate President.

“The party (All Progressives Congress) and the President appear to have a soft spot for Akpabio. I would have thought that people will say, look allow this administration to start on a very good foundation, so nobody gives us excuses that why this administration could not start on good footing is because of the rancour between the executive and the legislature.”

According to the former governor of Rivers State, the nation would be distracted by an unnecessary power struggle between the executive and legislative branches of government if there was no goodwill between the National Assembly’s leadership and the president.

“If Mr. President doesn’t have a smooth administration, at the end of the day, who suffers? Is it not Nigerians? Let us believe that we are all one, let us give everyone a sense of belonging.”

Wike revealed that the preference of President Tinubu and the APC national leadership for Akpabio, a Christian, is a deliberate move intended to dispel the misunderstanding caused by the selection of Kashim Shettima, a Muslim, as the president’s running mate.

President Tinubu, he claims, has demonstrated his sincerity to balance the faith question raised by the APC Muslim-Muslim ticket in the last presidential election by endorsing Akpabio and appointing former Benue State governor, George Akume, as Secretary to the Federation.