10th Assembly: North-Central Stakeholders alledged maginalisation, demands speakership
Agency report
A group, on the agies of All Progressives Congress (APC) North-Central Stakeholders has demanded that the Speaker of the in-coming 10th National Assembly be zoned to the North-Central for equity, justice and fairness.
The group made the demand on Monday in Abuja while protesting at the APC National Secretariat, alledging marginalisation in the distribution of leadership positions of the in-coming National Assembly.
Alhaji Salihu Ibrahim leader of the group, while speaking with newsmen, said it was unfortunate that in spite of its contributions to the party’s development, the North-Central was being marginalised.
This, he said, was especially with regards to the distribution of leadership positions of the in-coming National Assembly and in the scheme of things.
He added that the protest was to convey the feelings of the zone to the party’s leadership and to Nigerians generally.
“The party has not taken the North- Central into consideration and it is outrageous and we are not happy.
“Right from the emergence of the APC, the North-Central have contributed largely to its development, even up till date,” he said.
According to him, the zone contributed more than any other zone in the country to the electoral victory of Sen. Bola Tinubu, the President-elect in the February 25 presidential election.
He added that the zone should therefore be rewarded with the Speakership of the in-coming 10th National Assembly.
Ibrahim said the protesters were ready to ground the APC National Secretariat if its leadership failed to zone the speakership position to the North- Central geopolitical zone.
“We will continue to protest peacefully and tell them it is unfair, we are not ready to constitute nuisance or disobey constitutional authority, but we would protest peacefully and occupy the party secretariat.
“We are not asking for too much, we are only asking that the position of speaker of the 10th Assembly should be zoned to North-Central. That is what we want for now.
“We didn’t come here to name the candidate, but for the interest of North-Central. The zone should be taken into consideration and should be recognised and appreciated by APC at the national level,” he said.
He commended Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, the APC National Chairman for his leadership and for ensuring stability in the party, but added that this was not paying the North-Central.
Recall that the APC won four out of the six states in the North-Central zone in the February 25 presidential election, including Kogi, Niger, Benue, and. Kwara States(https://newsatlarge.ng)