The chief whip of the Ninth Senate, Orji Kalu has said he has no plan to step down in his bid to become Senate President.
The lawmaker made this known during a press briefing on Tuesday morning at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
He also added that he was in talks with one of the contenders for the Seanet Presidency, former Zamfara governor, Abdulaziz Yari over collaboration and partnerships.
The National Working Committee of the All Progressive Party had named Senators Godswill Akpabio and Jibrin Barau as its preferred candidates for the office of the Senate President and Deputy respectively.
Senator Kalu said, “I won’t step down for anybody.
“We are talking with Governor Yari. Our group and his group are talking intimately and in partnership. We will make sure that no one zone can produce the Senate presidency. Like I used to tell people, no zone can produce the president of Nigeria.
“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.”
He added, “The sponsors will come together to decide what direction this partnership will be. I’ll be very happy to reveal what the sponsors will say. Two of us are thinking of the integrity of the Senate and support President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima. If you are thinking that what happened during Saraki’s time, it will never happen again.”
Recall that in 2015, Bukola Saraki, a former governor of Kwara state, defied the All Progressives Congress to emerge senate president. The ruling party at the time chose current Senate President Ahmad Lawan.
The chief whip noted that the collaborations of Kalu-Yari won’t disappoint Nigerians.
He said, “We are capable of representing ourselves; Yari-Kalu – Kalu-Yari – we won’t disappoint Nigerians. We will give Nigerians what they require and the Nigerian people won’t be disappointed.”