Presiding officer position is what North Central deserves – Gagdi

An aspirant for the Speaker of the 10th Assembly and chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Yusuf Gagdi (Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam federal constituency) has declared that only a presiding officer position in the 10th Assembly will be fair compensation to the region in light of the consistent delivery of votes to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said the North Central region was critical to the electoral success of the All Progressives Congress and could not afford to be ignored.

Gagdi in a statement yesterday noted, “What is happening now is the beginning of a negative trail of extracting votes for the region but neglecting us when it comes to issues of political equity. If we accept it, this will not be the end but the beginning.

“I am aware that some people have said the North Central should accept this injustice and wait to be compensated with executive appointments.

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“I completely reject this defeatist recommendation. There are six constitutional political offices in the federal government: the president and vice president, Senate president and deputy, the Speaker and deputy. There is no good argument in favour of denying the North Central one of these positions. And there is no good argument for giving two of these to any one zone.

“What is happening now is an attempt to victimise one section of the country to favour the private ambition of few people. There is no justice there, no equity; and we must reject it without apology.”