Prof Ibe Faults APC’s Zoning Formula for 10th NASS

The zoning formula for the 10th National Assembly’s major officials, which was just revealed by the National Working Committee of the APC, has been denounced by Prof. Gregory Ibe, convener of the World Igbo Summit Group (WISG), who claims it is unfair to the South East.

This was contained in a statement by Prof Ibe’s media adviser, Sleek Ogwu. According to Prof. Ibe, if the APC go on with implementing the proposed zoning plan, it will openly uphold the petty apartheid policy it implemented against the South East during the present Buhari administration.

Prof. One, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2023 elections 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 South East region.

“By wilfully marginalizing the South East while zoning the offices of President, Vice President, Senate President, Deputy Senate President and House Speaker, APC is simply advancing the parochial agenda of exclusion which was introduced through the President Buhari propagation of the ’97 and 5 per cent’ dichotomy and the ‘dot in a circle’ stigmatization”.

While advocating for a complete rejection of the zoning formula, Prof. Ibe cautioned the APC against further dividing the country with divisive policies that tend to discourage inclusivity, equity, and fairness. Instead, he favoured returning to the tried-and-true method of stabilizing the polity on the firm tripod of WAZOBIA.

The statement recommended APC use the combined sociopolitical and economic resources of the Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo in the process of reconstructing the country.

Recall that the National Publicity Secretary of APC Felix Morka, had micro-zoned the office of the Senate President to the South-South region with Senator Godswill Akpabio as the preferred candidate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to North West with Hon Abbas Tajudeen as consensus nominee,