10th Assembly: Group makes case for South East, North West

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

A pressure group, National Unity Group (NUG), has called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) and president-elect, Bola Tinubu, to zone the positions of Senate president and speaker of House of Representatives, to the South East and North West respectively.

The group, in a statement by its National Chairman, Omotayo Gbadebo, said it would help douse tension in the two zones.

It said there was need for the APC and the president-elect to pay attention to the South East and North West in the interest of equity, fair play and stability of the country.

“We are urging the APC leadership and president-elect to as a matter of equity, fairness and stability of the nation, pay special attention to the appropriate zoning of principal offices and political positions in the next administration.

“We are very sure if this is done, peace will return to the troubled areas in the country, some of these senseless killings will end and tension will be doused. The president-elect needs an atmosphere of tranquility to restore hope to Nigerians. The Renewed Hope vision can only be achieved if the enabling environment is provided.

“Let no one misunderstand us; we are not saying competence and capacity be sacrificed on the altar of religion or region but Nigeria is a peculiar nation and we must be sensitive to our religious, sectional and ethnic diversities. The APC should run an inclusive government that would cater for the interest of every discerning tendency,” the group said.

It recalled that at the inception of the former president Olusegun Obasanjo administration in 1999, there was tension in the country, noting that the then ruling party deployed zoning of offices to give every part of the country a sense of belonging.

“Presently, there are mindless killings in the South East and agitations as it was in the South West then. Let the party give them Senate pesident so that they can have a sense of belonging in the Nigerian project. For North West, it is the biggest geopolitical zone with the highest number of votes (2.9 million) in the presidential elections, which is approximately 34 per cent of the total votes that gave the president-elect victory,” it said.