Speakership: Middle Belt group appeals to APC, Buhari to reconsider South East

Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

A group under the auspices of Middle Belt Youth Movement for Unity, Equity, Fairness and Justice, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to reconsider zoning the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 9th Assembly to the South East geopolitical zone.

The spokesperson of the group, Aaron Mike Odeh, who made the appeal at a media briefing in Abuja last weekend, said that zoning the position to the South East will ensure unity, equity, fairness and justice, since other zones have produced the president, vice president with the position of senate president zoned to North East.

“As we come to the end of our two-day strategic meeting with the major aim of brainstorming on how the members of Middle Belt and beyond can develop in all areas, we also wish to use this opportunity to call on Mr. President as a leader and the ruling APC, to ensure the equitable distribution of all the sensitive national positions to give all the six geopolitical zones sense of belonging.

“For this reason, we wish to appeal to him and all the political leaders to support the call for the zoning of the speakership position of the 9th Assembly to South East since they are also one among the major ethnic group in Nigeria. Sincerely, the contribution of the south East towards the independent of Nigeria, the growth of the economy and otherwise, cannot be overemphasised.

“We wish to appeal to Mr. President, the national and local leaders of the APC and the major opposition political party, PDP, religious leaders, traditional leaders and all Nigerians to rise up to support the call for the zoning of the position of speakership of the Green Chamber to the South East.

“Before we forget, presently the current president is from the North East, the Vice President from South West. To ensure unity, equity, fairness and justice, let the speakership of the 9th Assembly be zoned to the South-East. We should not because of future political calculations to side-line them from the sharing of the sensitive national positions in Nigeria which has been a norm that has sustaining the federal character system as enshrined by the constitution of Nigeria at and even before the independence.

“I want to let Mr. President and the leadership of all the political parties that the contributions of the South East towards the independence of Nigeria, the growth of the country’s economy and otherwise, cannot be overemphasised,” the group appealed.

The spokesperson of the group also pleaded for the consideration of Nkiruka Onyejeocha, arguing that she is eminently qualified as a ranking member. “I want to let Mr. President and the leadership of all the political parties, Nigerians and the honourable members of the 9th Assembly to know that presently the South East has a very high-ranking member, currently doing her third term.

“As God would have it, she is re-elected. Onyejeocha, the current House Committee Chairperson on Aviation is no doubt a candidate for Speaker House of Reps. She will be a blessing to every segment of Nigeria in view of her wide experience in the legislative business, administrative arena, social relations.”