10th NASS: Allow Democracy To Thrive, Oduwa Frontiers Tells APC, NWC

A Yoruba socio-political group, “Oduwa Frontiers,” has called on the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to follow the path of honour and justice by reversing the unsolicited, unpopular zoning proposal and allowing democracy and its tenets to thrive.

The group called on the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to interrogate this skewed arrangement and give direction that reflects our collective commitment to equality, fairness, and inclusivity as a basis for participatory democracy. The national president of the group, Kolawale Adediji Kazeem, made the call in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Saturday.

“We join the Southern Governors Forum and other concerned Nigerians in calling on the National Working Committee of the APC to follow the path of justice.”

According to him, “As stakeholders in the affairs of the south-west and Nigeria generally, we hereby corroborate the Chairman of the Southern Governors Forum’s views and adopt all the issues raised, which are very sensitive, not only to the president-elect and the APC but also to the corporate existence of the country.

“We warn the President-elect not to wave aside the views of the Southern Governors Forum and the majority of his genuine lovers in other regions, in order to avoid falling into the traps laid to set him up against other sections of the country and damage the image of his administration even before it takes off.”

“We hereby state our strong position that the manner in which the party leadership directly meddled in the affairs of the legislative arm of government, which is an independent body, amounts to an infringement on the constitutionally guaranteed legislative independence and autonomy.

“We warn that the APC cannot afford to make the mistake of allowing the repetition of what transpired in the eighth Assembly when Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara emerged Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives,

“He said Kazeem also enjoined the APC to replay its exemplary leadership of allowing an open contest and level ground for the party primaries that paved the way for the emergence of Asiwaju as its presidential candidate.”

“It is therefore expedient for the APC to allow open contests for all interested candidates, irrespective of region or geopolitical zone, and allow the members of the National Assembly to vote for their leaders.”

Speaking further, he noted that this calculated design to give the incoming administration of Asiwaju a bad name even before it takes off, is without a doubt, part of the disturbances that have been created since the emergence of a South Western presidency. In particular, the despotic move to zone the National Assembly leadership positions to suit certain vested interests with false love for the President-elect only aims to set a dangerous foundation of distrust and suspicion as traps to undermine the coming.

“Everyone knows the democratic antecedents of the Asiwaju and his unbending commitment to democratic principles of fair-play and the right of choice.” It would therefore be misplaced to believe that a man with such a high commitment to democratic processes would be involved in such unconstitutional actions.”