By Joseph Erunke

ABUJA—AIDES of senators and members of the House of Representatives, under the aegis of National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum, NASSLAF, have rejected Mr. Sam Melaye, younger brother to Senator Dino Melaye, as their Chairman.

They said Melaye would not lead them, given that he failed election conducted to that effect.

The forum, in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Yusuf Bamidele, yesterday, said allowing Melaye to head them would also amount to violation of zoning arrangement in its constitution, given that he hailed from North Central geo-political zone, where the out-going Chairman, Mahmood Muhammed, hailed from.

The statement said: “Our elections and leadership are driven by zonal arrangements. The last administration of Mahmood Muhammed, who is now a member of the House of Representatives, was from the North Central. By so doing, the North Central has had its shot and cannot come again.

“We have North-West, North-East, South-South, South-East and South-West, so we cannot allow a particular person or zone to shortchange us.”

The group, while noting that it held its election on Thursday, April 28, where Mr. Darlington Udeh emerged victorious, wondered why a section of people in the National Assembly management was trying to impose Melaye on it.