The South-South caucus in the House of Representatives yesterday said it would resist an attempt to marginalise the region in the sharing of principal officers’ position, expected to be announced today.
The caucus, which is chaired by Hon. Pally Iriase (APC, Edo), therefore, urged the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara to be fair and adhere to the principle of federal character in choosing principal officers to forestall any imposition.
Iriase had contested the position of the Speaker but later stepped down to support Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who has again being nominated by the APC to emerge as Majority Leader of the House.
In a statement on Tuesday, the caucus said: “We reject a proposal that purports to zone House leader to South West in addition to deputy speaker and chief whip to North East in addition to the position of the speaker already held”.
It further stated that a proposal purportedly emanating from the Loyalists Group (which campaigned for the party’s choice in the last election for Speaker) of the House of Representatives had been sent to the National Working Committee of the APC, wherein the South-South is said to be allotted the position of the Deputy Chief Whip.
“Our immediate reaction is to repudiate the fraudulent and insensitive proposal.
“We are members of the Loyalists Group, and to the best of our knowledge, no proposal for the zoning of principal officers was discussed and agreed to by any member of the South-South in the group.
“Unilateral and self-serving proposal by a few members cannot be said to have come from the group”, Iriase said in the statement.
