Igbo Mandate Movement Asks APC to Zone Speakership to Southeast
- As the race for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly gets closer, various groups have started canvassing for different positions
- On its part, Igbo Mandate Movement has called on the APC to zone the Speaker of the House of Representatives’ office to the southeast
- The group also advised the party to back Hon Benjamin Kalu for the position, saying he is the best man for the job
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Enugu - The Igbo Mandate Movement has called on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to zone the Speaker of the House of Representatives office under the 10th National Assembly to the southeast region.
The group further stated that if the seat is zoned to the region, the best man for the job is Hon. Benjamin Kalu, the current spokesman of the House of Representatives.
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In a statement sent to Legit.ng on Tuesday, April 18, after its press briefing in Enugu, the group’s coordinator, Mr. Igboeli Arinzechukwu Napoleon, said the APC ought to zone the seat to the southeast region for the sake of equity and fairness.
Igboeli noted that following the election of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima as president and vice-president-elect, respectively, it was incumbent on Ndi Igbo as one of the nation’s major ethnic groups to begin its search for its path to the center.
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He stated that only four zones could equitably lobby for positions within the National Assembly, and it would be common sense politics to zone them to these regions to ensure regional balancing, fairness, and equity.
Giving reasons for his assertion, he said:
“The first of such is based on the historical fact that since the emergence of Rt. Hon Ume Ezeoke, no Igbo man has occupied the speaker position as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic under the auspices of the Accord Concord between the NPN and the NPP.
“The second is that under the 4th Republic, Ndi Igbo again are the only major ethnic group yet to produce one of their own as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“So you can imagine that in 24 years of our democratic experimenting, three zones being the northwest, northeast, and southwest, and two major ethnic groups in the Hausa Fulani and the Yoruba have occupied the positions of Speaker save for Ndi Igbo.
“The third fact is that true Nigerians must be desirous of seeking to reintegrate Ndi Igbo into the mainstream politics of the nation.
“There is a need for Ndi Igbo to be strategic in its interactions with other regions that make up the Nigerian nation; thus, we must present only our best not only for purposes of acceptability but also for strategic reasons.
“The APC as a party must move towards the reunification of Nigeria by seeking to reintegrate the southeast region. To do so, it must deploy its best hands; people who will not only seek power for themselves but will seek to serve the people.
“The fourth and the most important is that Ndi Igbo must move with the times and trends of today’s politics by entrenching new faces, faces devoid of the many baggage, blemishes, and scars of our past politics in which everything and anything did go.”
He said the choice of Kalu for the group is due to his unwavering commitment to the ideals of Igbo and Nigerian progress.
He further stated that the lawmaker representing Bende Federal Constituency has impeccable records as a rep member for the past four years and unalloyed commitment to the presidential aspiration of Tinubu.
10th Assembly: Coalition drums support for Kalu’s speakership bid
Recall that a Coalition of Civil Society Organizations recently expressed support for the bid of Hon Kalu to serve as the Speaker of the House in the 10th National Assembly.
Daily Sun reports that the national convener and lead Civil Society Groups for Good Governance, Chief Dominic Ogakwu, said Kalu towers above all others, especially those from the southeast, seeking to occupy the position.
10th NASS: APC governors accuse two candidates of offering bribes to lawmakers
Meanwhile, APC governors have accused two lawmakers elected into the 10th National Assembly of bribery.
The governors said the lawmakers are offering their colleagues $1 million per vote to elect them as Speaker and Senate President.
According to the governors, the actions of the lawmakers-elect may make zoning impossible if action is taken slowly.
APC suspends prominent Reps member over allegations of thuggery
In another development, the APC in Kebbi state has suspended the current lawmaker representing Koko/Besse, Maiyama federal constituency, Shehu Muhammed Koko.
The state chairman, Abubakar Muhammad Kana, announced the suspension of the federal lawmaker.
Koko, the chairman of the house committee on Air Force, was accused of anti-party activities and thuggery that ridiculed the party and brought disgrace and division to the APC.
Source: Legit.ng
