While awaiting the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, a group known as the Niger-Delta Council of chiefs is drumming support for the President of the Senate to be zoned to South-South geo-political zone of the country.
According to the group, it has become imperative for South-South to produce the next President of the Senate against the backdrop that the zone has not been allowed to produce the Presidency of the Senate since the return of democratic rule in 1999.
In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by the National Chairman, Chief Mathias Olowu, Obong (sir) Unyime Ekwere KSJI, as scretary. Noted tthat zoning the Senate Presidency of the 10th Senate to the South-South zone will foster national unity and engender a true sense of belonging to the people of the geopolitical zone.
He said, “it will also drastically reduce the usual acrimony that characterises such struggle for power among the geo-political zones, thereby, reducing unnecessary distractions for the peaceful and smooth take-off of the new administration under the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The group further, said: “The call to zone the Senate Presidency of the 10th Senate to the South-South is also strengthened by the fact that the All Progressives Congress (APC) got more than 25 % (per cent) votes in each of the Six (6) South-South states.Adding that
the electoral contribution of the South-South greatly helped the ruling party to clinch the presidency in the 2023 presidential election. It is, therefore, necessary for the party to consolidate on its electoral success in the zone by zoning the Senate President to Zone. said South-South geopolitical zone occupies a very formidable and remarkable consideration as the treasure base of the country that ought to be accorded special recognition to compensate for all her sacrifices thus far.
Argued that the economic importance of the zone and its strategic relevance to stabilising the politics of the nation, cannot be over-emphasised
“As patriotic citizens, our primary interest is the unity and prosperity of the nation, hence, this clarion call to the ruling party to do the needful by promoting government of national inclusion, equity and fairness to all the geopolitical zones.” added that since the inception of democratic government in 1999, the southeast has produced five senate presidents noting that in the spirit of equity, the seat should be micro-zoned to South-south as the west is already occupying the position of the president of the country.
Narrowing the choice to Akpabio, the group said: they have also gone further to examine the leadership credentials of senators-elect from the South-South zone that has the competence and experience to progressively pilot the affairs of the Senate of the 10th National Assembly.
Their consultations revealed that His Godswill Akpabio is the right senator-elect with the competence, national acceptability and political experience to effectively pilot the Senate to greater heights. Akpabio being a former Minority Leader of the Senate under the Peoples Democratic Party and now to be President of the Senate under the All Progressives Congress, can be a true unifier; he can be the rallying point of all the senators and a formidable bridge between the Executive and the Legislature, having also been a former governor.