S-East govs meet in Enugu over NASS positions

By Chris Ochayi

ABUJA-Ahead of the June 7, 2011, election of the new helmsmen for the National Assembly,  governors of the South East geo-political zone will meet this weekend, in Enugu, to map out strategies on how the zone will clinch juicy positions in the National Assembly.

Already, the South-East caucus in the House of Representatives has said that only the president of the Senate or speaker of the House of Representatives would be acceptable to their geopolitical zone in the next dispensation.

A source close to the secretariat of the South-East Governors‘ Forum told Vanguard yesterday that the governors, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other organised interest groups in the area were clamouring for the Senate Presidency to compensate it for the impressive performance recorded by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the zone.

The source said: “In the just concluded elections, the South East voted 97 percent for President Jonathan which amounted to about a quarter of the total votes cast for the President nationwide. Besides, the Igbo votes in Lagos and parts of the North contributed significantly to the total aggregates that ensured victory for the President.

“In the National Assembly elections, the PDP scored about 90 percent in the South East. Also in the governorship polls, the South East voted 100 percent. Out of the three states where the governorship elections had taken place, the PDP won the three.

“In contrast, the South West, which is reportedly angling for the position of speaker, recorded zero percent in the governorship election. In the National Assembly elections, the PDP got only five out of 66 available House of Representatives seats in the South West. The PDP also won only one seat out of the 18 senatorial seats in the zone.

These numbers are said to provide few choices in the South West for recruitment of quality leadership that will ensure national stability.