NASS Leadership Tussle: Has APC Abandoned South East?

APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole

The South East geopolitical zone is a stronghold of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which was evident in the 2015 general elections when the zone overwhelmingly voted for the presidential candidate of the PDP, President Goodluck Jonathan.

At the time the presidential candidate of the APC, President Muhammadu Buhari who won the presidential election did not get up to 20 per cent of the votes in any South East state. The zone was accused of putting its eggs in one basket and its relegation to the background in the sharing of positions by the APC leadership was justified on that ground. The people of South East was told that had they elected even one ranking APC senator from the zone, they would have produced the Senate President.

It was widely reported then that the position was even micro-zoned to the minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, if he had won the Anambra Central Senatorial seat in 2015. Ngige lost in the senatorial election.

In the 2019 general elections, APC in the South East performed better than in 2015. President Muhammadu also did better. While he did not win in any of the South East states he got the constitutionally required 25 per cent and above in virtually all the South East states.

The APC also produced two Senators-elect from the South East. They include former governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu who was elected on the platform of the APC to represent Abia North senatorial district in the 9th Senate; and incumbent governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha who won the Imo West senatorial election, but is yet to receive his certificate of return from INEC, due to alleged intimidation of the Returning Officer. The APC won some House of Representatives seats. This was seen as an indication that the APC is set to challenge the dominance of the PDP in the South East.

However if the APC stakeholders in the South East thought that their effort in the 2019 general elections deserve a pat on the back from their party’s national leadership, they were wrong. An indication to this emerged when the national leadership of the party zoned the top leadership positions in the forthcoming 9^th National Assembly. The party in allocating the top leadership positions in the 9th National Assembly left out South East zone.

In several official pronouncements the APC national leadership said that the North East shall produce the Senate President and that Senator Ahmad Lawan is their preferred candidate for the position. This has not stopped about two other senators from North East from indicating interest in the Senate Presidency. The Deputy Senate President position was said to have been zoned to the South-South. In the 9th House of Representatives, the APC has also zoned the position of Speaker to the South West, with Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila the beneficiary of the party leaders’ decision. All APC House of Representatives members-elect had been told by the party to queue behind Gbajabiamila and ensure that he emerged the speaker. Gbajabiamila’s endorsement by the APC national leadership is being challenged by other aspirants from the North Central zone. But the party has told the North Central speakership aspirants to bury their ambition because the position of deputy speaker is what has been reserved for the North Central.

It therefore means that from May 29 and the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly in June, the North West would produced President Muhammadu Buhari; South West, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila if his colleagues elect him in June; North East would produce Ahmad Lawan as Senate President if his colleagues elect him in June; South-South would produce Deputy Senate President; while North Central would produce Deputy Speaker. The zone that was left out is the South East despite the gains that the APC has made in the zone in the 2019 general elections. That is why South East APC is crying marginalisation quietly while a few vociferous others are insisting that the position of Speaker or Deputy Senate President should be allocated to the zone.

Recently a South East group in the APC, the South-East Renaissance called on the leadership of the party not to zone the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives to the South West geopolitical zone. The convener of the group, Chris Onyemechara said that having taken the position of the vice president, it would amount to avarice for the zone to still show interest in the leadership of the Green Chamber. Onyemechara said the sensible thing the APC and Presidency should do was to zone the position of Speaker to the South east. He said: “From established political norms and antecedents, in the spirit of natural justice and equity, what we thought our party would have naturally bequeathed us the Senate Presidency or the Speakership of the House of Representatives are now subjects of political contention and controversy. “However, now that the party, in its wisdom, has decided to zone the Senate President position to the North-East, we strongly believe that the just and equitable thing for our party to do, is to zone the Speakership of the House of Representatives to the South-East. Instead, what we see rankles our sense of justice and distorts the pattern of fair sharing as intended by the Federal Character clause in our constitution.

“A situation where the same geopolitical zone which produced the Vice President of the country and the National leader of our party, is seen scheming and demanding, with a bloated sense of entitlement, the Speakership of the House of Representatives, smacks of political avarice, brazen injustice and grave disservice to good conscience.”

Meanwhile the North East stakeholders of the APC has said that the speaker of the 9th National Assembly should come from the South East. Publicity Secretaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North East geopolitical zone under the auspices of the APC Forum of Public Relations Officers have aligned with the agitation of the South East geopolitical zone to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 9th National Assembly. The APC spokespersons said their decision to align with the South East is borne of the fact that all zones of the country should be allowed equal representation in the government in the spirit of fairness and justice. Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, Coordinator of the Forum, Aaron Artimas said in supporting the Southeast for the Speakership of the House of Representatives, they are not unaware of the zoning of the office and that of the Senate President to the South West and Northeast respectively by the national leadership of the party. Artimas said the Forum has endorsed Hon. Nkeiruka C. Onyejeocha for the position of speaker, considering her wealth of experience as a four-time member of the House and a former local government chairman with lot of grassroots support.

Onyejeocha is not the only South East lawmaker gunning for the speakership position. Another member of the House of Representatives, Mr Chike Okafor, has also declared his ambition to be Speaker in the coming 9th National Assembly. Okafor, who is representing Ehime Mbano/Ihitte Uboma/Obowo Federal Constituency of Imo State, made the declaration in Abuja recently. He made the declaration at a meeting with representatives of several non-governmental and socio-political and socio-cultural groups. Okafor disclosed that he had sent a formal letter to the national chairman of All Progressives Congress, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, in which he expressed his intention to contest for the seat.

Recently the APC, Youths Consultative Forum, in the South East urged the leadership of the party to zone the position of speaker to the zone in the interest of fairness and equity.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the national coordinator of the group, Sir Romanus Oguleme disclosed that the zone has credible and ranking members of the party in the National Assembly to lead any of the two chambers.

He pleaded that the zone should not be schemed out in the National Assembly leadership as was experienced in 2015 adding that zoning the speakership to South East was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise of inclusive government.

The group argued that the excuse in 2015 that South East APC didn’t have ranking members to be considered for positions of principal officers should not be used again as the Zone has two returning members in the House.

Similarly, former governor of Abia State and Senator-elect has demanded for Deputy Senate President position for the South East.