A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Lumumba Dah Adeh, has said the current agitation for the 10th National Assembly speakership should be put to rest with the zoning of the position to the North Central.
In an interview with Daily Trust at the weekend, Adeh, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State and former aide to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said the Deputy Speaker of the House, Ahmed Idris Wase, deserved the right of first refusal.
He said, “Since the First Republic, the North Central took the position of speaker only once and it lasted for only three months, while other zones have held it for 12 or eight years cumulatively. That is why we say this time around that the North Central which has the least tenure should also be considered for fairness and inclusion.
“But beyond that, the zone currently holds the deputy speaker position in the person of Ahmed Idris Wase, and we are saying that since he is qualified, he should be supported to take the seat of speaker of the 10th assembly.
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“The president-elect is from the South West while the vice president-elect is from the North East. The senate presidency would most likely be zoned to either the South South or South East for equity.
“So, we are demanding that given the contribution of the North Central to the success of the APC at the presidential election where we gave it the third highest votes, that we should be equally recognised and compensated.
“President Muhammadu Buhari who is about to complete eight years as President of Nigeria is from the North West. So, the zone can be said to have had its fair share of the topmost political position in the country.”