Former Federal lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly have called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) and other statutory organs of the party to consider zoning the position of the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly to the South-South region.
They made the appeal on Thursday at a press briefing held in Abuja.
Operating under the platform, The Initiatives, Dean of the Forum, Honourable Eseme Eyiboh said if the ruling party followed the earlier models used since the inception of democracy in 1999 it should be taken for granted that the southern part of the country should also occupy the position of Senate President having produced the President-elect.
He said:” The aim of The Initiatives is to build a new Nigeria and add value to the Nigerian people.
“The chairman of The Initiative is retired Justice Mohammed Uwais and the Deputy Chairman is former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.
“The President of the Senate and the Speaker are first among equals so their leadership must not engage with the Executive on unnecessary activism.
“That is why we want leadership at the national assembly that will benefit the people. Zoning the office of the Senate President to the South will be fair and we want it zoned to the South-South.
“Cubicles of opportunities have been destroyed. Our institution in the national assembly required people who have pedigree and integrity. We must set a template to set out some level of integrity.
“We have to change the narrative and the trajectory. Let there be participation.”
Eyiboh also noted that the zoning arrangement to be pronounced by the national leadership of the APC must also consider the primordial sentiments of the people in terms of religion and ethnic affiliations.
“You can’t have one religion to have all the positions. Offices should be occupied by people of different faiths.
“The APC should understand and consider these issues that we are talking about because zoning is about resolving the issues of social Injustice.
“If the president is from South West, Vice- President from North East, if earlier models are to be followed, the Senate President should also come from the South.
“If the president is in the South, the model obliges that the Senate President should come from the South.”
Advancing the argument why it should be micro-zoned to the South-South region, Eyiboh noted that compared to the South-East region, the oil-producing states gave more votes to the APC presidential candidate and President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He also recalled that the South-East region has produced several Senate Presidents in Evans Enwrem, Chuba Okadigbo, Adolphus Wabara, Anyim Pius Anyim and Ken Nnamani.
“It is the political party that will do the zoning and look at the votes every region brought to the table. Let the Senate President’s office go to the South-South.
“It cannot go to the South-East. It should go to the South-South. When the country was burning with insecurity, South-South provided peace.
“South-South should be the region the office of the Senate President should be zoned to and it should be fair.
“Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio should be the next Senate President. He was Governor, after that, he was brought into the Senate, flourished as an eagle and his colleagues broke the standing rules and made him the minority leader in the Senate,” The Initiatives added.
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