A round-table session which hosted a large section of Northerners, on Friday, has threatened to withdraw support for the All Progressives Congress, if the region is not given the leadership of the National Assembly.
This position, canvassed by the region was the outcome of a one-day round table with the theme: ‘The imperative of participation, equity and equitable development of Northern Nigeria,’ organised by the Democratic Research Institute.
According to the Chairman of the Committee on Communique, Prof. Tukur Muhammad- Baba, and the Secretary, Dr Benjamin Izra Dikki, the meeting noted that since the region is not in control of both the Executive and Judiciary arms of government, the demand for the National Assembly leadership is non-negotiable.
The comminique specifically noted that in the February 25 Presidential election, the region gave the party substantial votes which led to the victory of the APC.
It added that the North contributed a total of 63 per cent of the entire votes cast to defeat other parties.
The communique partly read, “In a table that was contained in the communique that showed the percentage of votes across the six geo-political zones, the North-west zone gave total votes of 2,652235, the North-central had 1,742,993 while the North-east gave 1,185,458. The total contributions of the North was 63.5%.
The communique stressed that the groups further resolved as follows: “Demand the leadership of the National Assembly in consonance with the provisions of section 14 and sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. This is necessary because the North is not in control of both the Executive and the Judiciary arms of government. This demand is non negotiable.”
They also demanded a fair share of the ministerial and other appointments. Such appointments, according to the groups, should take cognisance of competence, integrity and track record, otherwise, the region would be left with no option but to de-invest its support for the government and the party in subsequent elections.
