According to a member-elect who requested anonymity, a number of people do not comprehend how parliament works, citing the fact that the majority party in the House has the right to choose candidates and the minority party has the right to support or not support those candidates.

The APC leadership zoned the Senate President and Deputy Senate President positions to Senator Godswill Akpabio from the South-South and Senator Jibrin Barau from the North-West, respectively. Additionally, the party endorsed the member-elect representing Kaduna (North-West), Tajudeen Abbas, as speakership candidate, and the member-elect from Abia State (South-East), Benjamin Kalu, as Deputy Speaker.

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Senators Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara West), Osita Izunaso (Imo West), and Orji Kalu (Abia North) have insisted that they will not give up their ambitions to run for Senate President in favor of the party's consensus candidate.

After meeting with President Bola Tinubu in an effort to resolve the zoning crisis, the PDP leader stated that the president spoke eloquently about working together along party lines.

He, however, said “Let me tell you: many people don’t understand how the parliament works. There is a role for the party. Immediately a party has won the election and it is the majority in the parliament, the party has a decision to make and who to support. And if they zone their way to the leadership position, that is their prerogative. It is not really about zoning, it is about nomination and a party has the duty to nominate and support someone. And they have done that.’’ 

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“He (Tinubu) spoke very well, frankly. He stressed the importance of nation-building and working together. He said politics is over, it is time now to focus on governance, in building confidence and ensuring that we focus on delivering service to the people.’’

When asked if Tinubu's remarks about zoning pertained to the 10th Assembly leadership, the lawmaker responded, "Yes, he urged everyone to support their decision and work together."

 “Before then, the Vice-President (Kashim Shettima) had stressed the need not to push too far the issue of Muslim-Muslim ticket by allowing a third person – the Senate President – to also have an Islamic background. You know that Yari is contesting for President of the Senate.”

Kehinde Olaosebikan, the media consultant for Senator-elect Osita Izunaso of Imo West, stated that during the President's meeting with the legislators, he never asked anyone to stand down; rather, he demanded that the Senate President be a Christian.

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Olaosebikan stated that the President's demand was acceptable to his employer, noting that his boss would become Senate President.

He said, “The President never told anyone to step down for anyone. He only made a case for a Christian as the Senate President, and this makes my boss more qualified.

“Senator Izunazo would be Senate President by God’s grace and he isn’t stepping down for anyone.“

Similarly, Senate Whip Orji Kalu's chief press secretary, Emeka Nwala, maintained that his boss was still in the running and that "it's too early to determine a winner. Senator Kalu remains competitive."