For the ‘sake of equity, fairness and justice’, the Coalition of South- South Community for United Nigeria, Justice and Equity has urged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, to zone the Senate Presidency to the South-South region, claiming that the position was not the “exclusive right of the South-East region”.
The group lamented that since 1999 the position of senate presidency had been occupied by the South-Eastern region uninterrupted for five times.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, the chairman of the coalition, and former spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh, argued that if the party should uphold its principle of zoning, the position should be zoned to the South-South.
He said it was a request to the APC, the President-elect, Bola Tinubu and all well meaning Nigerians, that the office of the Senate Presidency should be zoned to the South-South region.
“The reasons are very clear. Since 1999, the position of the senate president has always been occupied by one region. So if we follow the model of what has been going on in this country each time Senate Presidency comes to Southern Nigeria, it is usually micro zoned to the South-East. South-East has had uninterrupted Senate President for five times.
“His Excellency, Adolfus Wagbara(Abia), Evans Enwerem( Imo), Chuba Okadigbo( Anambra), Pius Anyim ( Ebonyi), Ken Nnamani( Enugu), the position has been distributed to five South-Eastern states. So now the Senate President coming to the South cannot go to the South-West because the president of the federal republic of Nigeria is from the South-West. The natural place, if we mean zoning, it should go to is the South-South”.
The coalition which also declared support for the aspiration of the Senator-elect for Akwa Ibom North-West (Ikot-Ekpene), Godswill Akpabio, to lead the 10th Senate said it believed that Godswill Akpabio had the capacity and pedigree to lead the 10th Senate.
“What an average Nigerian is looking for now is strong institutions not strong individual, sustainable development goals and we need somebody who has the pedigree and capacity to actualize that for a united Nigeria, that person is here in the South-South.
“We are presenting, Godswill Akpabio, for this position, without a doubt we seek the support of all,” Eyiboh appealed.
Eyiboh added that Akpabio, who is a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, former Senate Minority Leader and minister, had the ability to galvanise the executive and the legislature for the good of the country.
