Yakubu
Prof Greg Ibe, a governorship flagbearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance at the justconcluded 2023 general election in Abia State, has decried the zoning formula recently announced by the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the election of principal officers of the 10th national assembly.
Recall that the All Progressives Congress had endorsed Godswill Akpabio as Senate President and Jibrin Barau as the Deputy, Abbas Tajudeen was endorsed for the House of Representatives Speaker and Ben Kalu as his Deputy.
Earlier, Ibe, who is also the convener of the World Igbo Summit Group (WISG) frowned at the APC zoning formula for principal officers in the 10th Assembly, describing it as totally discriminatory and a manifestation of the noninclusive stance of the party against the southeast.
Ibes opinion is contained in a press release issued on Thursday by Rev Sleek, his Director of Communication and Strategy.
Rejecting the zoning arrangements by the APC, maintained that if the party goes ahead to implement the zoning arrangements as announced, it will be inadvertently sustaining the parochial apartheid policy it introduced against the southeast region during the present Buhariled administration.
He said, The attention of the leadership of World Igbo Summit Group has been drawn to a purported zoning formula by the ruling APC for principal officers of the 10th national assembly which from every indication encourages the promotion of a punitive culture of discrimination and marginalization against the southeast.
By wilfully marginalizing the southeast whole zoning the offices of President, Vice President, Senate President, Deputy Senate President and House of Representatives speaker, APC is simply advancing the parochial agenda of exclusion which was introduced through President Buhari propagation of the 97 and 5 percent dichotomy and the dot in a circle stigmatization.
Ibe called for outright rejection of the zoning formula, saying it will further polarize the nation through divisive policies which tend to discourage inclusiveness, equity and fairness.