A pressure and lobby group, Justice Advocacy Group, has advised the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to give political offices in the ninth Assembly regional balancing.
In a statement on Monday by the coordinator of the Justice Advocacy Group, Akintunde Lawal, the body said Nigeria cannot afford a repeat of the feud that characterised the eighth assembly, where the leadership of the National Assembly and the executive could not work together in the interest of the nation.
Lawal said: “Now that APC has won the elections, the critical issues should be how the APC will deliver to the electorates the dividends of democracy.
“So what the party leaders need to do is to allocate key offices to respect geopolitical sensitivity and standing among geopolitical zones.
“We should guide against the crisis that characterized the 8th assembly.
“The incoming Nigerian legislature cannot afford any unnecessary feisty political relationship with the executive and to forestall this, the APC leadership must do what is right.
“There must be justice and fairness as enshrined in the constitution of the party and Nigerian constitution.
“As it is now, the North West has the President while the South West has the Vice President and the National Leader of the APC leaving Four Zones bare.
“So it is incumbent on the party to reflect political balancing in considering the leadership of the 9th Assembly.
“All the zones must be considered on the basis of equity as enshrined in the APC constitution.
“Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) Section 14: Sub Section 1;1c;3 & 4 and the All Progressives Congress Constitution (2014) as amended – The Preamble – Article 7, sub (i), (ii), (ix) and (xii)
“Doing otherwise would be courting crisis in the coming Assembly.”
Lawal noted that ceding the positions to the appropriate zones “would not amount to sacrificing competence but strengthening the foundation of democracy in the country.
“It is important that every geopolitical zone in the country has a sense of belonging.”
He stressed further that politics “also recognizes the number of votes and therefore every zone must be recognized on the basis of their contributions to the party.”
In the just concluded presidential election the North West, APC, comprising seven states produced 5,995,651 votes, representing 72.45 per cent of the votes cast; North East, comprising six states, produced 3,238,783 votes, representing 74.36 per cent; North Central, made up of six states produced 2,465,599 votes representing 54.92%; South West comprising six states, produced 2,036,450 votes, representing 53.41 per cent; South East, comprising five states, produced 403,968 votes, representing 19.26 per cent; and South South, comprising six states, produced 1,051,396 votes, representing 32.01 per cent.
Lawal, however, warned: “If APC goes to the contest, that is election of principal officers in the National Assembly, with a divided house, it will be detrimental not only to the party, but the ninth Assembly.
“It must be noted that a divided APC will be very vulnerable and the opposition parties can spring surprises during the elections, yet again suggesting that the APC would not have allowed experience to be the best teacher.
“President Buhari and the leadership of the party will do well to consider the implications of a repeat of the scenario of the last four years.
“Nigerians are watching.”