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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
A coalition of Civil Society Organizations(CSOs) under the aegis of Progressive Parliamentary Support Alliance (PPSA), has urged the newly elected members of the House of Representatives to support Francis Waive to emerge as deputy speaker of the 10th House.
The coalition, in a statement by Bala Mohammed and Boboye Akinrefon, on Thursday, said there is need to elect a Christian to occupy the position of deputy speaker in the interest of equity and balance in the polity.
It noted that Waive, who is the current deputy chairman, House Committee on Power and member representing Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu Federal Constituency of Delta State, based on his antecedent is best suited to occupy the position of deputy speaker in the next dispensation.
“We wish to put on record that we are not opposed to the choice of a Muslim Speaker in the 10th Assembly, but we wish to unequivocally demand for religious balancing especially among the two Principal Officers – Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
“This becomes very germane to the principles of fairness and equity. Recall that Nigerians and Christian Community took it in good faith when the leadership of APC resorted to the Muslim-Muslim joint ticket in the 9th Assembly.
“And it is very expedient to point out that with the Muslim-Muslim joint ticket which was replicated with the choice of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Kasim Shettima, the Parliament should reflect religious balancing.
“From series of assessment carried out on all the three geo-political zones – South South, South West and South East, we can attest to the character and personality of Honourable Reverend Francis Waive as the man fit for the job.
‘We strongly believe that Honourable Francis Waive has the capacity to provide the support for whosoever is nominated as the Speaker in the 10th Assembly and handle critical role of Committee of the Whole as well as Committee of the Supply at any give time,” the coalition stated.
