Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, a Coalition of the APC Support Groups (CASG) has written a formal letter to the national chairman of the ruling party, Abdullahi Adamu, asking the party to adopt the Senator-elect for Imo West, Senator Osita Izunaso, as the next Senate President.
The letter signed by the leaders of the support groups, said without being subservient to primordial argument of state, tribal, religious, regional considerations, emphasis should be placed on character profile, experience, capacity and competence on who should superintend over any arm of Government especially the senate of the 10th Assembly.
Some of the APC chieftains who endorsed the letter include; Fulani Dele Ola, Sally William-Chinebu PHD, Prince Olumide Ogundipe, Mazi Peter Okorafor, Udeze V. Chigozie, Sulaiman Abdulmalik, among 16 others, said for national cohesion and integration, and for peace to be pursued and delivered in the South-east political zone, the NWC should do the needful by zoning the office of the Senate President to the South-east and consider Senator Osita Izunaso as their first choice for all the conditions stated above.
The letter reads in parts; “The 2023 general election has come and gone with mixed emotional trails embedded in our hearts. The fallout of the party’s victory must be managed and credit duly apportioned to the National working committee of the All Progressives Congress for their doggedness and resilience in ensuring that our party emerged victorious at the polls.
Our National Policy had been overheated with pre and post-election agitations bothering on ethnic and religious sentiments over the allotment of principal offices of the various tiers of government.
“For a smooth democratic process; there is a need for the protection of nascent democracy which is hinged on the principle of Federal Character as provided in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that recognizes and promotes inclusivity of all groups in the country into public offices.
By compliance of this provision, the peaceful co-existence and national security is guaranteed which is the bedrock of progress and development of our nation.
“For the 10th Assembly, the aforementioned should be the yard stick in determining who becomes the senate president.
As members of the NWC, paramount amongst your reasons for preference on who become the senate president, should be commitment to party loyalty to party, capacity for performance and track record of service in party administration.
“While not objecting to the emotional argument of geo-political consideration, it behooves on the NWC to lean on the balance of justice and equity, and insecurity challenges to concede the senate president position to the South East geo-political zone, where undoubtedly character and competence is remarkably in abundance.
“Only recently, the South East political zone has been overheated by non-inclusivity in principal elective appointments which the NWC can redress by taking proper and judicious decision on the South East Senate Presidency.
“Going forward, while not overstretching our bounds of advice, we are compelled to further micro zone the office of the Senate President to a square peg to a square hole. Having considered the prerequisites referenced above, we recommend a man who has character, experience, capacity, trust and above all loyalty to the party as most suitable for the office of the Senate President.
“The man best suitable for the office so described is Distinguished Senator Osita Izunaso, OFR; a ranking senator, the most senior senator from the South East zone in the 10th Assembly, a member of the APC merger committee, APC caucus member, national organizing secretary etc, etc.
“Humanitarian gesture of Senator Osita Uzunaso is tremendous. He founded the Kpakpando foundation for persons with disability which carters for the needs of persons with disabilities. The foundation has sponsored a good number of disabled persons over the last 15 years of its existence. Senator Osita Uzunaso initiated the disability bill which later metamorphosed into the establishment of the now National Commission for Persons with Disability.”