[size=14pt]Zoning palaver: North-East, South-West to produce key ministers[/size]
Politics Sunday, June 12, 2011


BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR & HENRY UMORU

IN their quest to correct the distortion in the zoning formula of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) occasioned by the emergence of Rep Aminu Tambuwal (North-West) as speaker of the House of Representatives and Rep Emeka Ihedioha (South-East) as deputy speaker, the presidency and PDP hierarchy may 'compensate' the 'short-changed' zones - South-West and North-East with key ministerial appointments, Vanguard has learnt



http://odili.net/news/source/2011/jun/12/334.html



According to sources, the two zones may produce the ministers of Defence, Petroleum, Agriculture, Water Resources, Transport and Power among others.

Currently, the only top post occupied by the South-West is that of Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) held by former President Olusegun Obasanjo while the North-East has nothing at the top having lost the deputy speakership of the House of Representatives.

Aside ministerial and other top political appointments, the North-East may produce the party chairman currently held by Dr Mallam Bello Haliru Mohammed (North-West) while the South-West gets the secretary occupied by Abubakar Kawu Baraje (North-Central).


Indeed, fielding questions from United Nations correspondents on Wednesday, President Goodluck Jonathan, said that the matter could still be redressed, even in the House, via sharing of other offices like minority leader and minority whip.

Given the country's multi-religious and ethnic nature, he said the issue of zoning and spread of political offices always bred confusion hence the establishment of the Federal Character Commission (FCC).

His words: "To make sure that people don't get angry over certain things, the Federal Character Commission was established very long ago. It was even during the military government that we came up with the Federal Character Commission to make sure that offices are spread. So, the PDP believes that whenever you elect the President, who comes with the Vice President, who would come from different zones, you spread other offices to the remaining zones."

How zoning was butchered

The party was pushed to the precipice over zoning before the presidential polls, when a section of the North insisted that President Jonathan (South-South) should not run, to enable the North, which the PDP zoned the presidency, to produce the president following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar' Adua. However, Jonathan insisted on his constitutional right to run and went on to win the polls, marking what some party stalwarts regard as the beginning of the end of zoning in the PDP.

In essence, the North (North-West in particular) lost the presidency. Before then, the South-East also lost the PDP chairmanship to the North-West when Dr Okwesieleze Nwodo was forced to resign and his deputy, Mohammed took over in an acting capacity.

After the polls, the PDP zoned the speakership to the South-West. An Obasanjo-inspired South-West PDP Caucus endorsed Rep Muraina Ajibola as its nominee for the post. Other zones especially the South-East and North-West opposed the move on the ground that only six PDP Reps were re-elected in the South-West, a paltry figure compared to the other five zones.

The party hierarchy and Presidency's move to muscle their way through did not yield dividends as their nominee - Rep Mulikat Akande-Adeola was thoroughly trashed at the House of Representatives Speakership election last Monday where Tambuwal polled 252 votes to Akande-Adeola's 90.

A jolted PDP leadership initially refused to congratulate Tambuwal for going against the party's zoning formula and threatened to sanction him and Ihedioha. However, when the duo visited the national headquarters on Tuesday with apologies on their lips 'for giving their leaders sleepless nights," they were forgiven with a proviso that they would carry the party along in the appointment of other House principal officers, to ensure balance in the polity.

As a further step, the party leaders held a crucial meeting on Wednesday on the issue, where sources said the PDP might concede the position of national secretary to South-West and national chairman to the North-East.

According to a top member of the National Working Committee, NWC of the party, the national secretaryship hitherto zoned to the South-South might not go there any longer because the President and leader of the party, President Jonathan hails from the zone.

The source added that the party would let the North East have the position of national chairman of the party, even as they pressure Tambuwal to ensure that ''juicy'' committees especially that of Appropriation gets to South-West with Akande-Adeola in consideration.

The issue has continued to raise dusts in the polity as the South-East geo-political zone strategise for 2015.

Fake news.
Next page, biko.

Why is the news fake?.[size=14pt] SouthWest must produce either the Finance or Petroleum minister otherwise kasala go bust for Aso Rock.[/size]

aloy/emeka:

Why is the news fake?.[size=14pt] SouthWest must produce either the Finance or Petroleum minister otherwise kasala go bust for Aso Rock.[/size]

fake news, next bazz. GEJ cannot afford to entrust our money to a SWner, knowing how corrupt some of them can be.

adejoro74.:

fake news, next bazz. GEJ cannot afford to entrust our money to a SWner, knowing how corrupt some of them can be.

And he can afford to entrust it into the hands of Igbo or Hausa because they are saints, abi?.

aloy/emeka:

And he can afford to entrust it into the hands of Igbo or Hausa because they are saints, abi?.

It is a matter of degree. SWners are by far more financially corrupt.

adejoro74.:

It is a matter of degree. SWners are by far more financially corrupt.

Which criteria did you use to measure that?.

Look deeper and thou shall find.

adejoro74.:

Look deeper and thou shall find.

Fani Kayode, Bode, Tafa, Iyabo, Grange, Bankole only

Hausa/Fulani produced thieves like  IBB, Abacha, Gwarzo, Kwankwaso,

Igbos also have Uba, Uba, Nnamani, Ohakim, bank MD[ I forgot his name] and many others.

Does that qualify Yoruba as the ring leader in national looting?.

aloy/emeka:

Fani Kayode, Bode, Tafa, Iyabo, Grange, Bankole only

Hausa/Fulani produced thieves like  IBB, Abacha, Gwarzo, Kwankwaso,

Igbos also have Uba, Uba, Nnamani, Ohakim, bank MD[ I forgot his name] and many others.

Does that qualify Yoruba as the ring leader in national looting?.

lol@ only. Please dig deeper.

let every part of this country be well represented at the centre. Thats my own. Yorubas deserve some good positions, likewise the north east and all other parts. Lets always be fair in our judgment. This world is not where life ends o. Whatever we do in life we should always remember that there is Judgment DAY after this life where we give account of what we did in life and how we spent this life. the annoying thing is that most of this tribalists here claim to be christians. Is that what Jesus Christ said we should do? discriminate and cheat one another? God forbid. Lets watch it pls/

Minster of Petroleum and Minister of the FCT sounds good to me

Carry go, GEJ