Why Katsina Should Produce Speaker

By Usman Abdulrahman

I read your lead story of Thursday April 6 over the National Assembly leadership elections and the scheming that was going on for both the Senate and the House of Reps presiding officer positions. I was happy to see in your report that the national leadership of the APC said it was not going to rush into zoning these positions, i.e, Senate President and Deputy Senate President and Speaker and Deputy Speaker, because it wanted to ensure that when it does, there would be equity, inclusion and justice.

As a result, I want to make a case for Katsina State and why we should in all fairness get the job of the Speakership. I understand that perhaps for the sake of inclusion and following the brouhaha that attended the Presidential polls, the party would want to zone the Senate Presidency to the East. I think as things stand it may probably go to Senator Orji Uzor Kalu who sadly lost his wife recently, or Senator Akpabio.

The competition among Igbo Christian Senators currently serving in the 10th Assembly is not much of a competition considering their number.
In the same manner, the party should zone the Speakership to the North West for the sake of Justice. You will recall that the zone produced the highest votes for the party in the last election. And looking at the states in the north west, we can see that Katsina State gave the highest votes to the party and while the other states struggled in the gubernatorial elections, some losing in dubious circumstances, APC won Katsina in a grand manner.

If we are talking of equity and justice therefore it is only fair that the state with the largest votes, the highest number of members in the National Assembly, and the place where the outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari comes from and will return to, deserves to be given the Number 4 seat at least.

Besides, in the north, which comprised north east, north west and north central zones, we can see that the rest of the zones already have important positions given to them, except north west: the north central has chairman of the party, APC, in the person of Senator Abdullahi Adamu; the north east has Vice President elect, former Governor Kashim Shetima, and the north west which is about to lose the president, will be left with no political bigwig with commensurate status. It is simply proper for the sake of equity and justice that the Speakership should go to the northwest and to Katsina state specifically.

I also think that because of his records and his sterling qualities, the member representing Jibia/Kaita federal constituency, Hön Sada Soli, should be given the job. He is more than capable. He is experienced, calm and intelligent. Above all, he is a detribalised Nigerian to the core.
Since they prefer to give the Speakership to someone who has cognate experience, it will do the House of Reps and the country a world of good if a man like Sada, who friends like to refer to as The intellectual because of his love for books and preference for logical reasoning rather than emotions, gets the job. It is too important to give to just anyone from the zone or to base this matter on pure sentiments.

We in Katsina State like to put our best foot forward and seeing what this man has achieved in the House of Reps and in his constituency which he is representing for the third time, we believe that he is the best man for the job.

Usman abdulrahman from Sabon Layi Katsina State