Kalu Kalu Diogu
In 2015, when APC zoned the Senate Presidency to the South East, it was generally believed that Senator Osita Izunaso who was then a ranking member in the Senate would become the Senate President if he won his election. Izunaso did not win. As a result, there was no ranking APC member of the National Assembly in the Senate from the South East at the time of the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly and the zone lost out. Senator Benjamin Uwajimogu became a senator after rerun, thereafter.
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 South East, having served as a member of the House of Representative from 1992 to 1993. This time round, 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 Bukola 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, as well as equity and fairness are taken into serious consideration in the sharing of principal offices of the National Assembly, particularly the Senate. The President is from the North West. Vice President from the South West. Party chairman is from the South South. The party leadership has now zoned Senate Presidency to the North East. It is only fair that the Deputy Senate President be ceded to the South East.
Abia North senatorial district delivered big for APC in the general election. As a witness and a member of the campaign team, I can attest to the fact that Senator-elect Kalu campaigned vigorously not only for himself but also for all APC candidates and it paid off. Abia North is the only senatorial district that President Buhari defeated Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the entire South East and South South zones and as such needs to be rewarded for the hard work and loyalty. South East 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 North East 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 South East the position of the Deputy Senate President
APC should be proud of the in-roads it made in the South East in the 2019 elections, compared to its performance in 2015. The party received over 403, 000 votes and more than the 25 per cent of votes cast in three of the five South East states. This is all thanks to the electoral values of Kalu and his loyal/teaming supporters. Since he joined APC in November 2016, the fortunes of the party in the South East increased tremendously. In Abia State, for example, President Buhari scored about 29 per cent (85, 058) vote cast in 2019 as against three per cent (13, 384) vote he got in 2015, achieving more than nine 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 Kalu for Deputy Senate President
Zoning the Deputy Senate President to the South East 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 Diogu wrote in from Pflugerville, Texas, USA.