We’ll Resist Zoning of Speaker To South-West — APC group

Some members of the All Progressives Congress who want to be Speaker of the House have also called on the ruling party to lobby lawmakers in the PDP instead of moving against them.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Saturday at the Stone Edge Hotel, Abuja, the Convener, APC Young Patriots, Mr Dominic Alancha, said though the party had yet to officially announce the zoning to the South-West, it should not do so to avoid opposition to the party’s candidate like in 2015.

Alancha said, “If the party goes ahead to zone the position of the Speaker to the South-West because it wants to foist a particular candidate on lawmakers, disregarding popular support and equitable zoning formula, it will thereby be short changing the North-Central of its hard-earned right which will be resisted by this group.

“One would expect that since the Senate presidency was zoned to the North-East, being the zone that contributed the highest number of votes after the North-West, the speakership position will naturally go to the next in line – the North-Central zone – which produced the second largest votes after the North-East (2,465,599).

“So, why is the party suddenly shifting the goal post when it comes to zoning the speakership position by considering the South-West that performed less than the North-Central and even already has the number two position of a Vice President? ls this an equitable thing to do?”

Meanwhile, House of Reps-elect from the six states in South-West rose from a closed-door meeting in Ibadan on Friday and pledged to support the party’s decision on the House leadership structure.

Led by their National Coordinator, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo from Ondo State, alongside their South-West Coordinator, Musliudeen Akinremi, the elected representatives, who converged on Ibadan Business School, Bodija for the meeting, said the zone deserved the speakership position.

They said they had no objection to the party’s position on selection of the house leadership.