North Central can’t be left without presiding officer – Wadada

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

Senator–elect, Nasarawa West, Ahmed Wadada, has said the North Central zone cannot be left without a presiding officer in the two chambers of the National Assembly.

He told journalists at the sideline of the just-concluded  induction programme for senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect that the zone has made its point clear that either the deputy speaker or speakership should be ceded to it.

The APC had zoned the position of Senate President to the South South; Deputy Senate President, North West; Speaker of the House of Representatives, North West and Deputy Speaker, South East.

Nevertheless, Wadada stated that it was not rational for the North West to produce both the Deputy Senate President and Speaker, while the North Central is not represented in the leadership of the National Assembly.

“North Central will not and cannot be left out with representatives like us. We will always strive and ensure that we get  what we deserve.  Efforts are on to ensure the North Central gets what it deserves. Because the North Central has paid its dues in stabilizing the polity long before now.

“North Central having been a stabilising geopolitical zone in Nigeria, we are still that that we have always been. We don’t want to rock the boat. What we  have  said is if for some reasons, the position of that deputy senate presidency,  that we have always canvassed for, cannot  be conceded to us ; we should be given the speakership position,  because North central cannot just  be left empty handed. That is what we are saying.

“It is not fair; it is not just and not rational. There is nothing right about it for one geo-political zone to have two presiding officer positions,  while the North Central remains empty.”

That is unacceptable.”

However, Jimoh Ibrahim, senator-elect from Ondo State told journalists that the constitution has already provided how leadership of the legislature would emerge.

“You can zone  to anybody; but  we cannot do anything beyond the  provision of the constitution and that is what we will do.”