Consider South South for Senate Presidency, Group Begs APC, Senators-Elect.
As Nigeria inches closer to the inauguration of the next governments under the newly elected president and governors, a group advocating for a Godswill Akpabio Senate Presidency, SGA 10, has called on relevant stakeholders to, in the spirit of equity and fairness, give consideration to the South South in the ongoing search for the Senate president.
In a release by the Convener, Akinloye Oyeniyi, in Abuja on Wednesday, the group urged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to consider the diversity of the country in zoning the Senate President seat to the South as the probability of the Speaker of the House of Representatives probability of coming from the North is very high.
Meanwhile, for the fierce discourses that greeted the muslim-muslim ticket during campaigns, the group advocated that a Southern Christian be considered for tension dousing, acceptability, balance and togetherness given that the President-elect who will head the Executive arm, the Vice President-elect, the Chief Justice of Nigeria who is also the head of the judiciary are Muslims.
In the release, the Convener, to the senators-elect stated that apart from competence and fitness, the South South should be considered as the zone to produce the next Senate President since the South East has at many times produced more Senate Presidents than any other zones in the history of the country; and that the President-elect having being from the South West, it will be considered pure justice if the South South is considered to produce the next Senate President and that personis no other person than workaholic Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio.
Oyeniyi, who further described Senator Godswill Akpabio as someone with verifiable competence, loved by the citizens and acceptable to all blocs necessary for nation building, said the uncommon former Minority Leader of the 8th Senate should be considered.
The Legislative Expert and Public Affairs Analyst in his words said; “Akpabio’s uncommon performance as the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State and principal officer in the 8th Senate that was widely adjudged to be the most productive, most people-oriented and most effective Senate in our recent history, placed him above every other contestants for the position.
“We also believe that having served at both the executive and legislative levels and performed creditably well, will save the entire National Assembly recurring hostility between both arms and thereby leading to proper independency of the Legislative, national development and democracy promotion and consolidation.
“We are calling on the APC to zone to the Senate President seat to the South South and begging other six political parties in the Senate to join hands in the proper balancing of the positions and enthronement of competent, effective, sound and responsive Senate and National Assembly leadership under the Senate Presidency and chairmanship of Senator Godswill Akpabio,” Oyeniyi maintained.
