BENIN CITY – A non governmental organization, Edo Youths Organization, has made passionate appeal to the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC and President Muhammadu Buhari, on the need to cede the speakership position of the House of Representatives to the South South in order to promote justice and fair play in the party.
It would be recalled that there had been leadership tussle between members from the South West, and the North in the House of Representatives, as to who becomes the speaker, consequent upon which a mini consensus election was held, where Rt. Hon. Gbasamila who is also regarded as a special and preferred candidate of the national leader of the APC, emerged, which precipitated a logjam among members, to the effect that the contending member, Rt. Hon. Dogara and his supporters angrily left the venue.
Edo Youths Organization, while speaking to the Nigerian Observer, through its founder/president, Comrade Derick Uhunmwagho, posited that the All Progressive Congress, APC, was a formidable party that does not belong to one person nor region, person nor region, saying that the issue of allocating principal positions in the national assembly, particularly the House of Representatives, should not be an exclusive benefit of one region, that had produced the vice president.
Comrade Uhunmwagho, further said that such an act would amount to marginalizing the South South region, which had fought frantically in using its resources to sustain the democratic tenets of the party and maintained that the speakership tussle that ensued between Rt. Hon. Dogara and Rt. Hon. Gbasamila alone was a calculated design to not only trample on the South South members, but a target towards undermining the relevance of the South South. He said that South South has the competence and dispositions to lead the House to an optimum legislative position in Nigeria’s democracy.
He said that the walking out of Rt. Hon. Dogara and his followers during the recent mini consensus election was an indication that the party may soon embark on a situation aimed at disrupting and scuttling the progressive programmes and policies of the President Buhari led government.
According to the Egor born astute public commentator and politician, the South South region had in possession, vibrant and articulate legislators like Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu and Rt. Hon. Pally Iriase among others, who had carved a niche for themselves in legislative matters at both state and national assemblies.
Comrade Uhunmwagho stressed that if the wrangling of who becomes the speaker was anything to go by, the purpose of collectively ensuring the success of the party at both state and federal positions in the just concluded elections would have been defeated, as 75 percent of the country’s resources are from the South South, which make it an economic hub in Africa and urged the national working committee, NWC, of the party not to be seen to be orchestrating a charade of injustice in the party ( in an attempt to make Gbajamila as the house speaker) and that any such attempt would not go down well with the South – South.
Uhunmwagho, further said that in retrospect, the South South region merely had the opportunity of producing the immediate past president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who, however, used his position to empower some youths in his party, PDP to address militancy and other social vices, saying that a proactive vision is the genesis of strategic wisdom.
He warned that if South South was not allowed to have a share in the principal offices of the house, as envisaged, it might lead to a democratic anarchy in the party. He advised leadership of the party at national levels to have a rethink and to consider the legislators from the South South region for the House of Representative Speaker to ensure peace and harmony with a view to giving a conducive atmosphere for president Buhari and his team to effectively and diligently transform the country to a greater height.
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