SENATE PRESIDENCY: THE MINDLESS MARGINALISATION OF S’EAST MUST STOP – ANYIM
Three months to the end of the Eight Senate, the battle for succession has begun. Already, some senators who won their reelection bids and others who were recently elected, have joined the race. Out of the key contenders, one is from the Southeast, while three hail from the Northeast. The other is from the North-central.
The key contenders are former governor of Abia State and senator-elect, Orji Uzor Kalu, Ahmad Lawan, who doubles as the current Leader of the Senate, Danjuma Goje and Mohammed Ali Ndume. While Kalu hails from the Southeast, the other three are from the Northeast. Adamu Abdullahi from Nasarawa State in North-central is another senator said to be interesred in the position.
Prior to the National Assembly elections, George Akume from Benue State (North-central) and Godswill Akpabio from Akwa Ibom State (South-south), were among those believed to be among the top contenders.
The February 23 major upsets, which positioned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to produce the majority in the Senate, have also reduced the number of the contenders. The party is yet to zone the various positions to the six geopolitical zones of the country.
Already, President Muhammadu Buhari is from Northwest, while his vice, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, hails from Southwest. Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Chief of Staff to the President are from Northeast. The current President of the Senate is from the North-central. Until recently, the South-south had the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). That leaves the Southeast as the only geopolitical zone which has no ranking government official in the hierarchy of power.
Pundits who have commented on the development believe that the ruling APC should adopt the power sharing formula and zoning arrangements of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which favoured equity. According to them, when the PDP held sway for 16 years, no geopolitical zone was deliberately left out.
They further argued that if every geopolitical zone is well represented, unnecessary agitations and misgivings against the Federal Government will fizzle out. A commentor who spoke to Sunday Sun said that zoning the position of Senate President to the Southeast will show that APC has opened up and now ready to implement an inclusive government as promised by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The commentator who doesn’t want to be named, said: “In 2015, APC said it didn’t zone any position to the Southeast because the region didn’t have an elected senator. Even when some Southeast PDP senators later defected to APC, they were not considered because there was no vacancy.
“There was also an argument that President Buhari didn’t get 25 per cent votes in any of the five states in the East. Today, no one can argue along that line. He secured that percentage in the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections. The records are there for anyone who is still in doubt to see for himself.
“So, APC has no reason not to accommodate the Southeast. I am aware that some selfish politicians who over rate themselves want the position to be zoned to their region because they feel it’s their birthright. That must not be allowed to happen in this time and season. The right thing should be done.
“I also think that APC leaders from the region need to start speaking up. At this point, silence is no longer golden. Let them demand that the position be zoned to the Southeast. They need to lobby and make a strong case.”
Adding it’s voice to the call, spokesman of Igbo Patriotic Forum (IPF), Anthony Anyim, called on other Nigerian leaders to join hands with President Buhari in advancing the cause of Nigeria.
He urged the leadership of the APC to zone the position of Senate President to the Southeast, adding that Ndigbo had been marginalised by previous administrations.
IPF called on Igbo sons and daughters to support the President Buhari-led government, stressing that the future of Nigeria is bright under the current administration.
He said: “With the results of the February 23, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections, it is glaring that President Buhari is popular and well accepted by the people regardless of party affiliations.
“The votes polled by the President in the 2019 election in the Southeast is more than what he scored in 2015.
The president has executed numerous projects in the Southeast than previous administrations. We appeal to the top echelon of the APC to consider the Southeast for the position of Senate President.
“The President is from the North and the Vice President is from the West. In the spirit of patriotism and equity, Ndigbo should be considered for Senate President. Collectively, all ethnic groups must work together for the sake of national development.”
