APC Defends Zoning Arrangement, Makes Case For Godswill Akpabio

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday defended its zoning arrangement that has caused a stir within the party.

Naija News reports that this is as the ruling party made a case for the selection of Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, said the South-South zone which Akpabio represents has not produced a Senate President since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999.

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It would be recalled that the APC National Working Committee (NWC) had on Monday zoned the leadership of the 10th National Assembly.

Recall that the party organ zoned the Senate President to the South-South, Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Deputy Senate President to the North-West, Senator Barau Jubrin (Kano).

Others are the Speaker of the House of Representatives (North-West) – Abass Tajudeen (Kaduna), Deputy Speaker South East – Ben Kalu (Abia).

However, Morka said the party consulted widely with the greater majority of the National Assembly members-elect before it concluded on the zoning arrangement.

Morka submitted that “I am from the South-South and I don’t see why the South-South is ineligible for consideration. After all, no Senate President has come from that region since 1999, since this dispensation.

“We haven’t had that. Other regions have had some representations. South-East for instance, five of them held that position from the South-East.

“That does not mean that the South-East is ineligible or unfit to produce the Senate President; every region of this country can.

“But there is something else that we are concerned about; it’s called national interest, it’s called equity, it’s called inclusion, it’s called a sense of ownership.

“The party is looking at some very solid parameters and ensuring that every region gets a fair share.”