10th Assembly ‘ Sen. Morro expresses surprise APC not considering North Central for key positions

10th Assembly ‘ Sen. Morro expresses surprise APC not considering North Central for key positions

Senator Abah Morro representing Benue South Senatorial District at the National Assembly who also a Senator -elect for the 10th Senate has expressed surprise that the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) are not considering the North Central in their National Assembly leadership positions’ allocations.

Sen. Morro made this known on Wednesday in Abuja while reacting on the quest of APC lawmakers for the party to zone certain positions to the zone.
The APC has zoned the position of the Senate President to the South South, Deputy Senate President to the North West, the Speaker of House of Representatives to North West and the Deputy Speaker to South East.

However, Sen Morro insisted that North Central is a very vital artery of Nigeria politics therefore, APC will only ignore it at its own peril.

He said, “If APC as a political party is allocating positions to zones; it is unfair, it is unjust to leave North Central out of the equation. It is not my business whether APC zoned Deputy Senate President or Speaker to North West but my business and concern is that North Central should be properly situated in the equation and that is what we are fighting for irrespective of the political parties. Whoever disregard the sensibility of the north central in Nigeria polirics will surely regret that “

When ask if he will like to be the next Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Morro, said he will definitely show interest if it’s necessary and when the time comes, adding that a minority leader must be someone who understands the dynamic of politics in the Senate and who can play the game of the opposition parties at the red chambers.

He insisted that he has the qualities to becomes the next minority leader of the Senate, saying that anyway, it’s the sole responsibility of the NASS leadership of various political parties (the Nass caucus) to nominate a candidate to the position of minority leader among others.
He also noted that, though they are 50 Senator-elect in opposition parties which cut across; PDP, NNPP, LP, APGA, among others, ao whoever is nominated would be representing the various political parties that have Senators at the Senate, therefore, he said he would be very ready to work with whoever if giving the opportunity to serve in that capacity.

On the adoption of Senator Sani Musa by the north central lawmakers on any available position, Sen. Morro said he has no objection to that because he (Sen. Musa is a ranking and qualified individual for any of the positions in the Senate.
According to him, “APC is a majority party in the Senate and if they are considering people or zone for positions, what we are saying is that North Central should also be consider and if considered and Sani Musa is giving the position I am at home with it “

On insecurity in Benue State, the former Minister of Interior stated that security has been a very big problem in his state in the last eight years of President Muhammad Buhari, saying that, herdsmen are killing his people on a daily basis . He said, he has cried and called for the federal government help but to no avail.
He said several communities in his Senatorial District have been displaced. “I can tell you that many communities in my area have flee their ancestral homes because of the consistent invasion and killings by Fulani herdsmen, it is very bad.
“Recently a community in Otukpo Local Government Area was attack, and the son of a sitting council chairman was killed among 34 others that were killed, that is how the situation has become that bad, yet no Fulani herdsman has been arrested.
“When our people are equiped with den guns to secure themselves they will say they are carrying weapons but Fulanis are carrying about AK 47 raffles without anyone asking them any question. So the communities are in traumatic situation, they are helpless and hopeless at the same time,” he said

2023 : Hon. Ogene Lampoons APC for Leaving South East Out ot Calculations, Urge Igbos to chart Common front

2023 : Hon. Ogene Lampoons APC for Leaving South East Out ot Calculations, Urge Igbos to chart Common front

….Argues PDP Remains Best Option for Ndigbo if left out in power equation

FCT (Abuja) – A former member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, has called on Igbo leaders across political divides to urgently convoke a summit of Ndigbo, if the zone is not to be left outside the power loop for yet another eight years.

“The eight years of the current All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government – most of which the Igbo spent lamenting its near obliteration from the country’s power calculus – is gradually coming to an end, yet there is neither an indication that the situation would be redressed, nor is there a concerted attempt by Ndigbo to avert a repeat of the status quo,” Hon. Ogene said in statement released today.

A chieftain of the APC, Hon. Ogene who served as Director, Media and Publicity in the Party’s 2021 gubernatorial campaigns in Anambra State, stated that “it was particularly irksome that in the clamour for the rotation of the presidential stool to the South, APC leaders appear to have deliberately refrained from specifically zoning the position to the South East, in the spirit of equity, fairness, good conscience and precedent.

“For those who are wont to hide under a finger, by citing the less than admirable acceptance of the party in the region, providence and precedent offers a simple answer: there once was a President who emerged in spite of electoral rejection by his ward, local government, state and region.

“Now that Ndigbo find themselves in similar situation, why would the rules of engagement change suddenly? Are the power brokers who despite everything else resolved the 1999 quagmire in favour of the preservation of national unity no longer alive to apply the same balm of inclusivity in order to accommodate Ndigbo?

“Today’s APC stands in the gap as the behemoth People’s Democratic Party, PDP at the time it took the largely unpopular but historic decision to support a candidate from the South West to emerge as President. With a country bursting at the seams by feelings of alienation, wouldn’t an affirmative action initiative offer some form of panacea, if not outright healing, for the many disparate agitators who struttle the landscape?

“For every cursory observer of the ferocious politicking currently going on in the APC, however, it would be akin to wanting the sun to stand still, should one crave a Presidential ticket from the party for a South Easterner.

“Speaking realistically, once the position is zoned to the South and a candidate emerges from either the South West or South South, that forecloses the possibility of getting a Vice Presidential slot for Ndigbo. And in the event that the Party triumphs in the 2023 election, its exclusion from the power loop would be stretched by another eight years.

“This, therefore, is a wake-up call on all Igbo leaders of note to gird their loins and seek negotiations and accommodation for the greater political interest of the South East.

“Not too long ago, Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, in a barely disguised pursuit of personal interest, left the PDP for the APC, on the excuse that Ndigbo won’t be available for a Vice Presidential slot under the PDP. Today, with the possibility of getting even that in the APC a mirage, Igbo leaders, including Umahi, may well begin to positively reconsider that offer – unless, of course, if the APC weans itself off it’s seeming anti-Igbo stance and do what is right.

“In deed, let’s face it, the only reason former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo are considered serious contenders for the Presidency is their hands-on experience on the top job, as former and sitting Vice Presidents.

“In deed, with the APC almost certainly going South, and the PDP, North, Ndigbo ought to commence an urgent process of political re-engineering – one which would attract greater political capital for the people of the region.

“Only two days ago, in a unique display of brinkmanship, three aspiring presidential candidates of the PDP met and resolved to forge a common front through a consensus agreement. A close look at the dramatis parsonae involved in the consensus talks would easily reveal that besides personal ambition, what is at stake is the greater interest of the entire North.

“With Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal(North west), Bala Mohammed(North east), and former Senate President, Bukola Saraki(North central), leading the charge, anyone with a mere passing interest in Nigerian politics would understand that the presidential train is about leaving the station.

“In deed, I can vouchsafe that the Sokoto State Governor, Tambuwal, widely acknowledged as the ‘Unifier,’ is a true friend of Ndigbo, and would not let people of the area down in the current permutations.

“While 2023 may appear to be a long shot in the presidential quest of the South East, 2031 would certainly not be – especially if it forms part of the demands in the negotiations leading up to the emergence of presidential candidates, and ultimately the country’s next president.”