10th Assembly: Group Charges APC on Zoning Formula
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Integrity Group has called on the leadership of the party to rise to the occasion by putting proper structure and machinery in motion to ensure acceptable zoning formula and the emergence of the right leadership in the 10th National Assembly.
The group in a statement issued yesterday and jointly signed by its Coordinator, Malam Dawu Mohammed and Secretary, Chisom Nwakanma, said the ruling party must prove to Nigerians that it was capable of taking care of the people through robust legislations and execution of public-interest policies.
The group said: “For our party, the APC, we call on the leadership to rise to the occasion, and to remember that it is not enough to win the presidency, and to have a majority of lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives.
“To do this, it is time to set the proper structure and machineries in motion. First, we must put the right leadership at the National Assembly.”
The group said this was not just to give the necessary impetus to the realization of the campaign promises made, but to ensure stability, focus, progress and a robust legislative machinery to oil the wheel of the country’s social, economic, political, security, and other vital sectors, in the years ahead.
It pointed out that zoning the office of Senate President to the South-east or South-south was adequate compensation to the agitations of these regions.
The group added that the zoning formula needs balancing to give the North Central, North-west, South-west, South-east and South-sSouth a sense of belonging.
It added that with the president going to the South-west, the vice president having been taken by the North-east, and considering that the outgoing President, Muhammadu Buhari, hails from the North-west, it was appropriate that the North Central like the South East and South South is carried along in the scheme of things.
Against this background, it noted that it was imperative to call the attention of the leadership of the party to the qualities of loyalty to the APC, competence, versatility, leadership prowess and commitment of Senator Sani Musa.
It stressed that as a group dedicated to the promotion of democratic values, it believed that Musa tops the list among those jostling to give the Senate the needed leadership in the next four or eight years.
It noted that electing Musa as the Deputy Senate President would be of immense benefit to the APC and the party.
It maintained that Musa’s ingenuity at using legislative machinery to solve national issues remains unparalleled in the history of the National Assembly.
