From Johnkennedy Uzoma, Owerri
One of the nagging issues that has continued to generate heat in the political landscape of the country since the presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections is the zoning arrangement of principal offices in the National Assembly.
The issue, considering its merits and demerits is also giving politicians and more importantly members of the National Assembly, including old and new members across the six geo-political zones in the country a sleepless night.
Giving the zoning arrangement as enshrined in the constitution of the political parties to ensure equitable representation in the National Assembly, every zone is now desirous of having their representatives elected as principal officers in the respective legislative chambers.
To many people in a particular zone, especially in this current political dispensation under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, those key positions should rotate according to zoning arrangement, while for others it is believed to be their right that must be accorded to them irrespective of what could be said about it
The case of South/East geo-political zone of the country is not a hidden agenda because the people of the zone have boldly made their intentions known for the position of both the Deputy Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the case may be.
If this is actualised, it would be the first time the zone is producing a Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Two House of Representatives members-elect on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC, from the zone, Hon.Chike Okafor and Hon. Nkiru Onyejeocha, have indicated their interest to contest for the plum position in the House of Representatives while one Senator-elect, also a member of APC, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has declared for the position of Deputy Senate President.
READ ALSO:Ogun unveils health facilities directory against quackery
Hon. Chike Okafor, currently a serving lawmaker, was re-elected to represent Okigwe South Federal Constituency, comprising Ehime Mbano, Ihitte Uboma and Obowo in Imo State and by his re-election is a ranking member qualified for the Speaker’s position of the House of Representatives.
Also, Hon. Nkiiru Onyejeocha, another APC member, is still a serving member ofthe House as she was also re-elected. She too is a ranking member and is qualified for the Speaker’s office.
A member of House of Representatives for Ideator North/South Federal constituency of Imo State under APC, Hon. Austin Chukwukere, in a media chat in Owerri recently, said that there was every need to balance power-sharing among all the geo-political zones in the country, as enshrined in the constitution of Nigeria under Federal Character principle, as a way to address the aged-long marginalisation.
He reasoned that the excuse presented in the 8th Assembly that the South-east zone did not have a ranking member is no longer tenable. He said that today, South-east zone has ranking members, who are qualified to be elected as a Speaker of the House of Representatives. He insisted that South-east must be accommodated in issues in Nigeria
According to him, if the president comes from North-west and vice president from the South-west, there is need for the remaining key offices to be spread to other regions and zones.
Chukwukere equally argued that if the position of the Senate president is zoned to the North-east, it becomes right and proper that the position of Speaker should come to the South-east zone.
He said that it is a matter of must that the position of deputy senate president should come to the South if other key positions have been zoned to other regions, it is the right of the South-east to get those positions and not by begging anybody for them.
In the meantime, leaders of APC in the South-east zone held their stakeholders meeting in Enugu, calling on the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, and other leaders of the party to revisit the subsisting zoning arrangement of principal offices in the 9th National Assembly.
They did this through a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting
The National Vice of Chairman, APC South-east, Mr. Emma Enukwu, who read the communiqué, said that positions ought to be zoned in a more equitable manner.
Enukwu said that that the zone, which was left out in the arrangements, needed to be accorded a deserving position in the leadership arrangement.
He urged the national leadership of their party to draw strength from the need to revisit the zoning of principal offices in the 9th NASS to further deepen and strengthen the electoral appeal of the party.
According to the communiqué, APC should remain a truly national political party with broad-based support in all parts of the country, the South-east zone inclusive, adding that the zone deplored the undue interference and meddlesomeness of forces from outside the zone in the affairs of the zone.
The leaders urged APC members in the zone to resist such and also implore those involved to promptly discontinue same in order to strengthen the party while calling on them to redouble their efforts in the pursuit of constructive opposition in their various states.
He insisted that APC members in the zone should rededicate themselves to reclaiming the South-east for the APC, adding that challenge must be confronted and defeated.
Enukwu said that the party was confident that its members that won elective positions during the just concluded elections would meet the aspirations of their people.
To ensure actualisation of the project, two committees were set up to advance the course of the party in the zone as well as interface with the national leadership of the party on the NASS issue.
The committees were the Contact Committee chaired by the Minister of Science and Technology, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, and the Reconciliation Committee, headed by the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige.
Some of the party chieftains in attendance at the meeting included Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, Sen. Andy Uba, Dr. Chris Ngige, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu and Chief Emeka Nwogu.
Others were Sen. Chris Adighije, and members of the party in the House of Representatives
To ensure that the zone is not relenting, the APC stakeholders in Abia State has during their meeting endorsed former governor Orji Uzor Kalu, the Senator-elect for Abia North Senatorial District for the deputy senate president in the 9th assembly and Hon Nkiru Onyejeocha, representing Isuikwuato/Umunochi Federal Constituency, for the Speaker of House of Representatives, respectively.
Their endorsement followed a motion moved by Senator Chris Adighije, the leader of APC in Abia State that represented Abia Central between 2003-2007. He promised to reach out to his friends in the senate to solicit for their votes for the candidates, describing the meeting which was held at Camp Neye, the country home of Orji Kalu in Igbere, Bende LGA of Abia State as the first of its kind
He described the candidature of Orji Kalu and Onyejeocha as a collective project for all the party faithful, adding that everybody has a role to play toward its realisation.
READ ALSO:Cyprus issues arrest warrants for Turkish offshore drilling crew
In her response, Onyejeocha stressed the need for the party members to join the struggle for Ndigbo to ensure that they produce the next Nigeria’s president comes 2023.
Deacon Chike John Okafor on his own part declared his aspiration to be the next Speaker of the Green Chamber based on the fact that he is a ranking member whose first missionary journey impacted so much on the people and Nigerians in general.
Meanwhile supporters of Deacon Chike Okafor across the South-east zone have also endorsed him and asked him to continue the bidding because other zones have enjoyed their slots and the zone have always cooperated with others for peace to reign in Nigeria. They maintained that now is their turn and time for others to support them.
The supporters said that the entire South-east was behind the project and are making a passionate case to be given a chance and sense of belonging, adding that with Chike in the saddle, the separatist agitations in the South-east would cease forthwith.
According to them the speaker’s slot is a way out, panacea to the end of ill feelings of marginalisation in the South-east.
They called on the national chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; the leader of the party, Bola Almade Tinubu, and other leaders of APC from the South to eschew narrow ethnic and personal interests and allow every section of the South to have what is due to them to save Nigeria the avoidable agony of ethnic crisis.O
