The zoning of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives to the South-East has been rejected by the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), which has thrown its support behind Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.
According to xanderetch, the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Working Committee chose Senator Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, to be the Senate President. Tajudeen Abass, a representative from Kaduna State, was chosen to be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives seat was also appointed by the APC NWC to Hon. Ben Kalu of Abia State.
The party has undoubtedly ended the aspirations of certain senators-elect from the Southeast to become the next president of the Senate using the zoning formula.
However, Ohanaeze referred to the zoning of the Deputy Speakership to the area as filthy, unreflective, and inflammatory in a statement released last week by its National Publicity Secretary, Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia.
In support of Ohanaeze’s position, COSEYL questioned why Kalu persisted in running for office despite being rejected in a statement released on Thursday by its president general, Goodluck Ibem.
“This position as taken by the apex socio-cultural group in Igboland is the popular will of our people,” the statement says in part. It represents and resonates with the Igbo people’s struggle for political survival as one of Nigeria’s most significant ethnic groups.
By accepting the position of Deputy Speaker, which is ranked seventh in the nation’s hierarchy of offices and positions of power according to our ranking, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, a member representing Bende Federal Constituency in Abia State, betrayed the interests of Ndigbo at a critical moment.
“This one conduct by Ben Kalu is reprehensible, and we condemn it wholeheartedly.
For emphasis, we would like to know if the Igbo are currently placed seventh in terms of population and their contribution to economic development and progress in the country. Are the Igbo now the seventh-largest ethnic group in the country, and will sharing spoils cause their eradication and consignment to the void of nothingness?