Ahead of the June date for the inauguration of the 9th Assembly and election of its principal officers, certain leaders of the North central zone have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress not to punish the zone for the perceived ‘sin’ of the incumbent Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki.
The duo of Senator Bukola Saraki and Honourable Yakubu Dogara, had emerged as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively of the outgoing 8th Assembly in 2015, against the party agreement which zoned the offices to the Northeast and Southwest zones.
Both Senator Saraki and Honourable Dogara are from north central and northeast geopolitical zones.
Further findings revealed that for the 9th Assembly, the party stakeholders have since zoned the office of Senate President to the Northeast and settled for Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan from Yobe state.
There are insinuations that the position of Speaker of House of Representatives may be zoned to the Southwest while the south south would produce the Deputy Senate President.
Addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, the Leader of the North Central Elders’ Forum, Alhaji Muhammadu Ari Gwaska declared that the North central be allowed to produce the Speaker for the Green Chamber as he noted that the zone came second behind the North west in the volume of votes delivered to the APC presidential candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23 election.
He said:”The North Central is too strategic to be relegated in the sharing of power equation in Nigeria. Since the adoption of the Presidential system of government in Nigeria, from the Second Republic to date, the Zone has continued to play a strategic role in representative government and bridge building.
“Lest we forget, in the aftermath of the 2015 general elections, the Zone was ignored in the appropriation of the spoils of office when the Senate presidency was zoned to the North-East and the speakership zoned to the South-West in addition to the position of Vice President which the Zone occupies.
“This resulted in a revolt! The ensuing rebellion upset the applecart by producing the current Senate President from the North Central with the northeast occupying the speakership.
“This revolt created disharmony and stagnation in governance and so much was lost in terms of expected national progress.
” It should be noted that the rebellion that produced the current Senate President against the wishes of the Party leadership in 2015 was not an arrangement with the backing of stakeholders from the North Central geopolitical zone. It was never in the tradition of this zone, as a bridge, to constitute a cog in the wheel of national progress.
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” The Zone has expressed its anger and disdain for the actions of the leaders of the rebellion by rejecting them in the 2019 National Assembly Election as demonstrated by the popular will of the people of Kwara State.”
Alhaji Muhammadu Ari Gwaska further argued that alienating the North central zone in the distribution of strategic positions would create disaffection in the polity and could ultimately distract the Buhari administration from the goals it has set for itself.
“As the party is caught in the euphoria of its victory at the recent poll, there is the need for caution. The national leadership of the Party must ensure that the Party does not inflict a sufficient damage on itself, which consequences can better be imagined in the course of selection and election of principal officers of the 9th House of Representatives.
“We make bold to state here that we speak in our capacity, over the years, as eyewitnesses, active participants and elders in the political development of Nigeria and the dynamics of regional politics as they affect the destiny of Nigeria as a viable political entity.
“We can, therefore, testify to a realistic appreciation of what mismanagement of the appropriation of the spoils of office can cause a party and even government in the running of the affairs of the Country.
“It is from the benefit of this hindsight that we appeal, with due respect, to the conscience of Mr President and the national leadership of the Party – the All Progressives Congress, APC to as a matter of deliberate policy, zone the speakership of the 9th National Assembly to the North Central geo-political Zone for the purpose of fairness, equity, justice, unity and loyalty as necessary ingredients in forming a government that will effectively drive the agenda of the Party and the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari in the Next Level.
” The Party is rest assured of loyal, competent and credible high ranking members of the House of Representatives from the Zone with the capacity for building bridges across the country for the good of the Party, Government and Nigeria. ”
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