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Group Lauds APC NWC For Zoning Reps Deputy Speaker To South-East
A group, the Niger Delta Rights Advocates (NDRA), has applauded the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for zoning the position of the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly to the South-East geopolitical zone of the country.
The group further applauded the APC NWC for microzoning the deputy speakership position to Abia State and with the member representing Bende Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu as it’s choice.
Addressing journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday, NDRA National Coordinator, Hon. Bright Ngolo, said although the position fell below the group’s projection, the APC NWC needs to be applauded for not completely neglecting the agitations that the South-East geopolitical zone must not be neglected by the incoming administration.
Ngolo said: “It should not be a thing of surprise for lobbyists to be active in the polity especially when it comes to the legislature, this is common practice all over the world as far as no laws are broken.
“Today, our lobby and advocacy has led to the zoning of the deputy speakership of the 10th National Assembly to the South East region and a further microzoning to Hon Benjamin, member representing Bende Federal constituency.
“Even though it fell below our projection, we want to thank the National Working Committee of the APC for taking the wise decision of not completely neglecting the agitations and calls by Nigerians across party, ethnic and religious lines, that the South East geopolitical zone should not and must not be excluded from the poltiical leadership of the country at this auspicious moment of our national history.
“We are not surprised at the microzoning of this position to Hon Benjamin Kalu, as we have eloquently enumerated some of the qualities for which we found him fit for leadership of the House of Representatives.
“You may also wish to know for anyone in doubt, that amongst the three members elect from the South-East zone who are members of the ruling APC, Hon Benjamin Kalu has to his credit, the highest number of bills sponsored (43 bills in total), and importantly, he scores the highest in terms of attendance to sittings and the business of the House therefore he ranks more in terms of experience since the other two members of the APC from his zone came in through Court decisions.
“Therefore, ranking in legislative business is a fundamental consideration when it comes to leadership in any parliament.
“NDRA considers the interest of Abia State which is one of the nine (9) states that constitutes the Niger Delta region, as non-negotiable given the fact that by geographical proximity, Abia still falls under the South-East geopolitical zone, we shall not shut our eyes or waiver in our determination to ensure that Abia State is not politically marginalized.
“May we remind Nigerians that the task of including youths into the leadership matrix of the country cannot be overemphasized as the youths remain the most important demographics in terms of population with over 60% of registered voters.
“Therefore, considering Hon Benjamin Kalu, who falls into this critical demographics, cannot be seen as a political mistake but rather, bridge-building decision to ensure that the voices of minorities and the marginalized get heard in the emerging dispensation.
“We do believe that the time is now for banishment of gas flaring, crude oil stealing and militancy and replacing these with entrepreneurship in artisanal and modular refineries and consciously promoting a green environment to save our unborn generation.
“Finally, we appeal to members-elect from other political divides and stakeholders alike to support and endorse the emergence of the APC’s preferred candidate for the position of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the interest of national unity.”
The Spokesman for the House of Representatives, Rep. Akin Rotimi (APC-Ekitit state) has said the House of Representatives will on Wednesday, debate the state of emergency declared on Rivers by President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement on Tuesday, Rotimi said that President Bola Tinubu had officially written the house of his decision in line with section 305 of the Constitution.
“Mr. President’s formal letter, informing the House of Representatives of his decision and seeking approval in line with Section 305 of the Constitution, has been transmitted.
“It will be read during plenary tomorrow, Wednesday, March 19, and further legislative action debated and decided,” he said.
Following the lingering political unrest between the Executive and the Legislature in Rivers, Tinubu, in a live broadcast on Tuesday, declared a state of emergency on the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the President suspended Gov. Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu and all elected lawmakers of the State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.
NAN reports that Tinubu appointed the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, as the Sole Administrator of Rivers while the judiciary continued operations.
Following the influence of the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike on the political face off, many stakeholders had threatened to embark on mass protests while others had commenced vandalising public property like oil pipelines.
Rotimi, however, said that the National Assembly was duly consulted before the declaration of state of emergency by the President.
He said that the leadership of the National Assembly met with the President and the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu among other security chiefs ahead of the broadcast. (NAN)
Bode George, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has described Abdul-Azeez Adediran, the party’s candidate in the 2023 governorship election in Lagos, as a “congenital liar”.
George spoke on Tuesday in a chat with Jimi Disu on Nigerian Info FM.
Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, joined the PDP from the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the 2023 elections and picked the party’s governorship ticket.
On Monday, he announced his return to the APC four days after meeting President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
Speaking about the former PDP governorship candidate, George said Jandor taught PDP “a lesson,” noting that he had agreed to pick Gbadebo Rhodes-Viviour as his running mate but reneged.
“He is a congenital liar. We stumbled into him through an older, respectable leader who brought him. It was something unusual because Gbadebo (Rhodes-Vivour) was at the forefront (of the PDP governorship ticket), the party chieftain said.
“But when the respectable man brought Jandor, we had to make a decision because, in our culture, we respect the elderly.
“Gbadebo was on hand, but I asked him his age, and he said he was 39, and Jandor said he was 45. And I said, ‘We can work something out’.
“I concluded that Jandor had been vetted by the old man. Until we had agreed that he would choose Gbadebo as his running mate. Then Gbadebo stepped down after paying 21 million for the party’s governorship ticket.
“Then, one day, Fashola said on TV that Jandor was his former cameraman. That was when we started digging into him.
“All of the party’s elders have concluded that we will not listen to any input from anybody from now on. Let whoever wants to contest go to the field.
“It is a lesson that he (Jandor) taught us. When he got the ticket, he did not want to take Gbadebo as his running mate. He lives in a conundrum of lies.
“Our party doesn’t do that, and we, the elders, apologised profusely, vowing that what happened with Jandor would never repeat itself.”
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas has described food insecurity as a huge national challenge which must be addressed by al tiers of government.
This is just as the Speaker urged the National Assembly and the State Houses of Assembly to deploy legislative instruments to tackle hunger and malnutrition across the country.
The Speaker stated this on Tuesday while addressing the House Committee on Food Security and Malnutrition as well as the National Legislative Network on Nutrition and Food Security in his office in Abuja.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Musa Krishi quoted Mr Abbas as saying, “Nigeria’s problem is largely, in a way, food insecurity and whatever we can do as parliamentarians to ease the burden on the people when it comes to hunger and malnutrition, we will be doing a very great service to this country. I urge you to please maintain the tempo. Ensure that you continue to increase the level of your activities until we get to that Promised Land.”
Abbas said it is gratifying to hear that an initiative of the House, “Which came on board for the first time in the history of the parliament,” is really making such kind of impact.
He added that “The committee is no longer a baby of the House of Representatives; it has become the baby of Nigeria as a whole, embraced by all the 36 Speakers (of the State Houses of Assembly) who are also making efforts to see that they can take this to all the local government areas.
“I think this is one of the few things that we created in the 10th House that will forever linger in my mind for being very useful to the country. I can attribute that success and the benefits to the chairman of the committee whose passion and commitment are driving this process.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Chinedu Okafor stated that the conversations around food security “Cannot start and end in Abuja,” stressing that his committee has taken the campaign against food insecurity and malnutrition to the sub-national levels.
Okafor recalled his meeting with the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly and Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Adebo Ogundoyin, which led to organisation of a retreat in Owerri, Imo State, where it was resolved that committees on food security and nutrition be set up at the state parliaments and federal laws be domesticated at the state level.
Okafor also recalled that chairmen and clerks of the newly created committees had a conference in Abuja, which birthed the National Legislative Network on Nutrition and Food Security.
He further hinted that the network is billed to meet with the Vice-President, Senator Kashim Shettima, on Wednesday on the subject matter of food insecurity.