In 2015, when APC zoned the Senate Presidency to the Southeast, it was generally believed that Senator Osita Izunaso who was then a ranking member in the senate will become the Senate President if he won his election but he did not. As a result there was no ranking APC member of the National Assembly in the senate from the Southeast at the time of the inauguration of the 8th National assembly and the zone lost out. (Note: Sen. Uwajimogu became a senator after rerun)
In 2019, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, the Senator-elect from Abia North will be a ranking APC member of the National Assembly in the senate from the Southeast having served as a member of the House of Representative from 1992 to 1993. This time around the zone cannot be overlooked or relegated to the background in the zoning of the Senate’s top leadership position. It has merited it
While we do not want what happened in 2015 where against the directive of the APC, Senator Saraki formed an alliance with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to emerge the Senate president, we want our party to ensure that religious and political balance, and equity and fairness is taking into serious consideration in the sharing of principal offices of the National Assembly particularly the senate. The President is from the Northwest, Vice President from the Southwest, Party chairman is from the Southsouth, the party leadership has now Senate Presidency to the Northeast, it only fair that the Deputy Senate President be ceded to the Southeast.
Abia North senatorial district delivered big for APC in the just concluded elections. As a witness and a member of the campaign team, I can attest to the fact that the APC candidate, now Senator-elect, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu campaigned vigorously not only for himself but for all APC candidates and it paid off. Abia North is the only Senatorial district that President Buhari defeated Mr. Atiku in the entire Southeast and Southsouth zones and as such needs to be rewarded for the hard work and loyalty. Southeast is a major stakeholder in the Nigerian project and deserves, on merit, the position of Deputy Senate President since the party leadership has endorsed/picked Senator Ahmed Lawan from the Northeast for the position of Senate President. With APC’s overwhelming majority in the incoming senate there can be no excuse for the party to deny the Southeast the position of the Deputy Senate President
APC should be proud of the in-roads it made in the southeast in the 2019 elections compared to its performance in 2015, receiving over 403,000 votes and more than the 25% of votes cast in 3 of the 5 southeast states. All thanks to the electoral values of Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu and his loyal/teaming supporters. Since he joined APC in November 2016, the fortunes of the party in the southeast increased tremendously. In Abia state for example President Buhari scored about 29% (85,058) vote cast in 2019 as against 3% (13,384) vote he got in 2015; achieving more than 9 times his performance in 2015. This is a feat that APC must take into consideration in its zoning decision — more than good enough for the party to endorse Senator-elect Orji Uzor Kalu for Deputy Senate President
Zoning the Deputy Senate President to the Southeast is a win win for APC. It is a win for equity, a win for religious and political balance, a win for justice and fairness and a win for increased membership drive and party acceptability in the zone
Prof. Kalu Kalu Diogu
Pflugerville, Texas
