Group Politics Editor, Taiwo Adisa, in this report, examines the controversies on the zoning of top government positions in the aftermath of the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the April general election.It is the usual trend. After a victory atthe warfront comes sharing of thebooty. Soldiers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had practically gone to war against serious challengers on four fronts; National Assembly, presidential, gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections. With the elections having been won and lost, voices have been roaring on the political platform, all targeting some preferred scenario in the sharing of top government positions.Some of the top positions available to the four geopolitical zones outside the South-South and the North-West, which have got the position of president and vice-president respectively, include the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The zoning arrangement also goes down the line in the configuration of principal officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as the location of important committees of the two chambers.For instance, in the outgoing session in the National Assembly, the South-West has the position of Senate Leader and Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation. A member of the House from the zone was also placed as head of the House Committee on Appropriation, while the South-South got the Committee on Rules and Business in the Senate and House of Representatives.Besides reference to Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which gives guidance on the principle of Federal Character in sharing government positions, there are also variants of the law in the constitution of the PDP, which ensures that top positions are not concentrated in one section of the country but distributed round the coordinating units that make up the country.The outcome of the 2011 elections in the South-West zone especially opened the channel for the heated debate we are witnessing on the zoning question. The South-West failed to return most of its lawmakers who are serving in the outgoing session to the chambers. While the zone has five members in the House of Representatives, it has only one senator in the upper chamber. A number of PDP members thus started thinking and postulating why the South-West should not retain the Speaker position in the House of Representatives.With the zoning arrangement which was flagged off in 2007, the North Central had the Senate Presi- dent, the South-East had the Deputy Senate President and the South-West had the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The North-West had the President in the person of the late Umaru YarAdua who died in office on May 5, 2010, paving the way for the emergence of Dr Goodluck Jonathan as President in May last year.YarAduas death led to the technical alteration of the zoning arrangement, taking the Presidency to the South-South. With Jonathans victory at the polls, some zones had started canvassing a total overhaul of the zoning arrangement.The North-East position: Shortly after the presidential election, senators-elect from the North-East geopolitical zone started a series of meetings to agitate a review of the zoning arrangement. The argument was that the zone had been neglected in the scheme of things for so long and that zoning the Senate President to the area would assuage the feelings of marginalisation.Some incumbent senators leading the senators-elect were said to have met in Abuja to demand a shift in the position of Senate President to the core North in view of the outbreak of violence that greeted the presidential election.Sources had confirmed that the 14 senators-elect from the North-East were being mobilised into the thinking that the zone could produce the new Senate President.One of the arguments put forward by the North-East zone was that it had not held the position since the dawn of democracy in 1999. The South-East held the position for eight years from 1999 to 2007, while it was zoned to the North-Central in 2007. Incumbent Senate President, Senator David Mark, who is in contention for re-election, is from the North-Central.The argument, it was learnt, was that the country should consider ceding the position of the Senate President to the North-East as a palliative in view of what was referred to as the need to assuage the zone (core North) over the post election violence that rocked the zone in April.The meeting was said to have resolved to: Emphasise the need to zone the Senate Presidency to the area as a palliative against the post-presidential poll violence, which rocked the zone in April.They further emphasised that it was necessary to concede the position to the zone to assuage the feelings of the people as it was done to the South-West in 1999, following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections.The senators-elect were also said to have argued that since the Presidency has moved from North-West to South-South, the need to enhance the unity, peace and stability of the nation should inform the new zoning arrangement.The North-East was also said to be marshalling arguments to the effect that the core North needed to be pacified with the position in view of the outcome of the presidential election.The zone further argued that insisting on David Mark would reinforce the fears of the core North, which needs to be pacified, since it lost out in the power equation in the aftermath of the death of Musa YarAdua.The power arrangement in the country since the unfortunate demise of YarAdua has created deep dissatisfaction in the core North, resulting in the spontaneous post-presidential poll violence in the zone, it was said.The North-Central Challenge Moves by the North-East were seen as a response to the bid to retain the current zoning arrangement which favours the North-Central and largely the incumbent Senate President David Mark. Besides the issue of core North which is being trumpeted in parts of the North, other issues, like the failure of the South-West to return a large number of members of the House of Representatives to ensure that it fights successfully for a retention of the Speaker post in the area and the need for religious balance, are also playing out.Some have argued that since the president is a Christian and the vice-president is a Muslim, there is also the need for religious balance at the helm of the national legislature. In the outgoing session, the Senate is headed by two Christians while the House of Representatives is headed by two Muslims. For such a scenario to be maintained, the position of Speaker has to remain in the South-West.The North-Central returned the highest number of ranking senators in the aftermath of the general election with five of the outgoing members re-elected. With that number, it poses a great challenge to other contenders. It is also the zone that produced the re-elected Senate President who could vie for the post once again, if his zone is favoured.The zone is also favoured by unclear signals from the South-East, which has seen its interest wavering from Senate President to Speaker positions. A group is also said to be working out a plan to retain the incumbent Senate President and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.But David Marks main selling point, which makes him a front runner in the process so far, is his relationship with President Goodluck Jonathan. The duo have remained close since the days when Jonathan was vice-president. Indeed, those who tend to despise them during the tenure of the late President Yar Adua used to refer to them as Obasanjos men.Last Wednesday, President Jonathan invited David Mark to the venue of his retreat in Obudu Cattle ranch, in Cross Rivers State, where the two dissected issues of zoning and the form of the next government. It was confirmed that the meeting would also lay the foundation of the presidents mindset on the zoning arrangement. At the meeting, it almost became clear that Jonathan was set to uphold the existing zoning arrangement.A source in the know of the workings of the administration warned: The president is of the view that he cannot change the goalpost in the midst of the game. He had told all Nigerians that he was going to serve out the tenure of his late boss, which is supposed to last till 2015. He is aware that the zoning arrangement that came into being in 2007 was meant to subsist for eight years, were it not for the act of God that brought him to power. That is why he is not thinking of altering the zoning arrangement substantially.The source said that with the plan to retain the existing zoning arrangement, the South-West would now produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives, while the North-Central could retain the Senate Presidency.As a way of maintaining the sanctity of the legislature and religious balance in the political calculations, the source said that a South-West Muslim, who is also a ranking member of the House of Representatives, would be made to pick the speakers slot.Sources, however, confirmed that the leadership of the PDP would play huge roles in stabilising the party in resolving the zoning debacle.According to a reliable source, we view what is going on among senators-elect and members of the House of Representatives, as far as demands for zoning of offices is concerned, as part of the democratic rights of members. But it is within the powers of the party, which is the custodian of all positions to give directions that will enhance national unity and coexistence. The party cannot afford to throw away the partys zoning arrangement for offices in a way that would contravene the constitution or undermine the existence of our party in a particular zone, especially the South-West.Contrary to the often repeated claims in some quarters, it was, however, confirmed that the Presidency did not enter into any agreement with either outgoing Senate President Mark or Speaker Dimeji Bankole to return them to offices. A source confirmed that what is paramount is that the president had enjoyed a good working relationship with the National Assembly and may want to repeat the same scenario, if any of them makes it at the election.It is not as if the president had an agreement to return either Senate President Mark or Speaker Bankole to their positions. What has happened is that the president has enjoyed good working relationship with the two presiding officers and their deputies. He also values experience and many are saying that he needs experience at the headship of the Senate and the House, if he wants to hit the ground running immediately.The legislature is too important to the presidents success. He has said that he will do only one term of four years and he may want to stick to experienced presiding officers, if that dream will be achieved, a source said.Outside the North-East and North-Central, the South-East has also been floating between the position of the Speaker. The zone is flaunting its performance at the general election where it won 13 out of 15 Senate seats and boasts of a 44-member team in the House of Representatives. What could do the zone in is religion and the fresh thinking that the zoning arrangement of 2007 should remain till 2015.How would the zoning war pan out It is a question for President Goodluck Jonathan and the leaders of the PDP. But what is emerging is a titanic battle already. The North is also showing interest in the position of the Speaker, with some elements in the area, declaring that the Speaker position should be used to pacify the North as well.As time ticks away, President Jonathan and his kitchen cabinet have got to settle down and determine the final answers to the raging controversy.No one should however lose sight of the need for equity and balance in the running of affairs of the country in determining the right answers.
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