NASS leadership: Igbo group, others condemn APC zoning formula

From Okey Sampson, Umuahia, John Adams, Minna, Abel Leonard, Lafia and Chukwuma Umeorah 

Convener of World Igbo Summit Group (WISG), Prof Gregory Ibe, has condemned the zoning formula for principal officers of the National Assembly as announced by the National Working Committee of the APC, saying it was against the South East.

Ibe, in a statement by his media adviser, Sleek Ogwu, said if the APC proceed to implement the arrangement, the party would be overtly sustaining the parochial apartheid policy it introduced against the South East during thePresident Muhamadu  Buhari-led administration.

Under the zoning formula announced by APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the Senate Presidency is allotted to the South South with Senator Godswill Akpabio as preferred candidate and Speaker of the House of Representatives to the North West with Abbas Tajudeen as consensus nominee.

Ibe, who was  Abia governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), described the zoning arrangement as totally discriminatory and a glaring manifestation of the non-inclusive stance of the APC against the South East.

“The attention of the leadership of World Igbo Summit Group has been drawn to a purported zoning formula by the ruling APC for principal officers of the 10th National Assembly which from every indication encourages the promotion of a punitive culture of discrimination and marginalisation against the South East region.

“By willfully marginalizing the South East while zoning the offices of President, Vice President, Senate President, Deputy Senate President and House Speaker, APC is simply advancing the parochial agenda of exclusion which was introduced through the President Buhari propagation of the ‘97 and 5 percent’ dichotomy and the ‘dot in a circle’ stigmatization.”

While calling for total rejection of the zoning formula, Ibe  cautioned APC to refrain from further polarizing the nation through divisive policies which tend to discourage inclusiveness, equity, fairness. He tasked the party and its leadership to pursue time tested arrangement of stabilizing the polity on the firm tripod of WAZOBIA.

The statement advised APC to leverage and deploy the collective socio-political and economic strengths of the Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo in the act of nation building.

•Avoid repeat of 2015 senate coup

–Vatsa

Meanwhile, chieftain of the APC and former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in Niger State, Jonathan Vatsa, has cautioned the ruling party against imposing leadership on the National Assembly.

Vatsa said the zoning formula announced by the NWC cannot stand because it was not done based on equity, justices and fair play. He warned that the party might be heading for the repeat of 2015 where the opposition parties installed Bukola Saraki as Senate President.

Vasta, who is former publicity secretary of the party who spoke in Minna, yesterday, against the backdrop of criticisms trailing the zoning list.

He said APC lost it bearing since 2015 after the “power that be” failed in their attempt to imposed leadership on the National Assembly.

While backing Governor Akeredolu’s submission of unfair and biased zoning formula which completely relegated the North Central and South East  zones to the background, Vatsa warned that the North Central in particular would not fold its hands and allow the zoning to stand unchallenged.

•External influence causing chaos 

–Nwankwo

Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Clement Nwankwo, has blamed  the chaos and unhealthy competition generated in the quest to elect the leadership of the National Assembly on undue interferences from external forces and politicians with personal interest.

Nwankwo who spoke on a national television programme, yesterday,  said the National Assembly can only deliver optimally in its legislative functions if it is independent with members allowed to elect leaders they feel could assist them deliver on promises to electorates. He said presiding officers imposed on members by third forces would only serve the interest of their god-fathers and not the legislators.

Nwankwo urged that the tenets for deciding presiding officers should be maintained as enshrined by the law in order to forestall the rancor generated by such issues in every administrative cycle. 

•Young professionals endorse Akpabio

A group of over 40 young Nigerian professionals, operating under the “Senator Akpabio Vanguard,” has pledged support for Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio’s bid to become Senate president.

Daily Sun gathered that the Vanguard consists of professionals from various backgrounds and states across Nigeria. They believe that Senator Akpabio represents the aspirations of the youths and less privileged in the country’s political landscape. During a meeting with the group, yesterday, CEO of TechBuildaz, Islameen Etudiaye, and CEO of Troika Tech, Jeffery Udende, commended Akpabio’s leadership qualities and endorsed his candidacy for the Senate presidency.

They emphasised that given the significant number of votes garnered by the South South zone, particularly in Akwa Ibom State, Akpabio deserved the position.

The group described Akpabio as “the ideal candidate to complement the efforts of President-elect, Bola Tinubu, who is set to assume office on May 29, 2023.”

Akpabio expressed his gratitude for the support and endorsement from the young Nigerians.  He said with over 23 years of experience in public service, he was committed  to assisting President-elect, Bola Tinubu in formulating impactful policies and laws for the betterment of Nigerians.