Ahead of the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly come June 9, 2019, a socio-political group, Wase Equity Project 2019 (WEP 2019), has called on the Presidency and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to zone the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the North Central zone.
The director-general of the group and member representing Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency of Benue State, Hon John Dyegh, made the call in Abuja during an interactive session with journalists, yesterday.
The WEP 2019 is promoting the aspiration of a fourth-term member of the House, Hon Ahmed Idris Wase, representing Wase Federal Constituency of Plateau State.
According to Dyegh, while Hon Wase deserves to occupy the exalted position of the Speaker based on his legislative experience, robust debate in the House and as the deputy leader in the outgoing House, the North Central must be compensated for delivering the third largest votes to the second term election of President Muhammadu Buhari during the February 23 Presidential Election behind the North West and the North East in that order.
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“Let us look at it, against all odds and despite stiff opposition against the APC in the North Central zone, we were able to deliver five out of six states in our zone. We delivered Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau and Niger, with the exception of Benue State where we also had appreciable impact. We believe that in the spirit of fairness, justice, equity and federal character, the position of the Speaker should be zoned to the North Central.
“We are not just saying this but we believe that the Presidency and the leadership of our party will know that we have a genuine case. Because if you look at it critically, the North West has Mr President, the South West has the vice President; the Senate President has been zoned to the North East. We think that if the South West that contributed the fourth largest votes already has the vice president, the North Central deserves the position of the Speaker and Hon Ahmed Idris Wase rightly fits in going by his antecedents in the House and his wide acceptance by all,” he said.
Hon Dyegh added that there is the need for the leadership of the National Assembly that will not only work in harmony with the executive, but a leader that possesses the temerity of purpose and the capacity to work closely with Mr President for the deserved democratic dividends of all.
“We (House members) want to choose among ourselves a leader like Hon Idris Wase, who has the experience, maturity and the capacity to lead the House in the 9th Assembly. We, however, want the Presidency and the leadership of our great party to look into our case in the spirit of federal character,” Dyegh added.
