[size=15pt]S/East Rejects SGF Position, Demands Senate Presidency[/size]

Monday, 09 May 2011 00:23 Isah




The South- East caucus in the National Assembly met yesterday with the chairman of the South -East governors, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, and asked him to pass on to President Goodluck Jonathan, their demand that they would not accept anything less than the seat of Senate president or that of Speaker of House of Representatives.
The lawmakers, led by the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, met with the governor of Anambra State at the Government House in Awka, the state capital.



Each of the five states of the zone had two representatives in the delegation that met with Obi. In response, Governor Obi said a meeting of the South -East governors would be convened after which they would meet with President Jonathan to press home their demands. The lawmakers on their part, said it would be “insulting” to the people of the South- East geo-political zone not to be considered for either the senate presidency or speaker of the House, after the massive support they gave the president in the last election. They also said it was unacceptable for the zone to be given the position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) believed to have been zoned to the South -East. LEADERSHIP investigations however indicate that the governors from the region are already planning a meeting with President Jonathan this week.

http://www.leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30407:seast-rejects-sgf-position-demands-senate-presidency&catid=51:cover-stories&Itemid=142

Looking good for the SE and potentially bad for the PDP,esceially since the person leading the meeting with Goodluck Jonathan is Gov.Obi, an APGA chief.

Chyz*:

Looking good for the SE and potentially bad for the PDP,esceially since the person leading the meeting with Goodluck Jonathan is Gov.Obi, an APGA chief.

Is APGA an arm of PDP now? Not good if you ask me. . .

EzeUche_:

Is APGA an arm of PDP now? Not good if you ask me. . .

On surface, it looks like both ACN and APGA are arms of PDP. This is nigeria, no party is permanant. Its about who has the best offer at the moment. Now, as far as APGA being an arm, i dont know undoubtly because of course I'm not in the party,but, i doubt it. Peter Obi has been the speaker for Igbo/SE for a while. I'm guessing he has great public relation skills or something. Obi getting close with the president from the beginning was a great move.

They should have known better. There are no bargains and campaigns after election!

Chyz*:

On surface, it looks like both ACN and APGA are arms of PDP. This is nigeria, no party is permanant. Its about who has the best offer at the moment. Now, as far as APGA being an arm, i dont know undoubtly because of course I'm not in the party,but, i doubt it. Peter Obi has been the speaker for Igbo/SE for a while. I'm guessing he has great public relation skills or something. Obi getting close with the president from the beginning was a great move.

I hope you are right, because we all know Obasanjo may be pulling President Jonathan's strings. If the S/west gets that coveted position, even after their lackluster support of PDP, I swear the Ndigbo will need to do something drastic. Are you not tired of this continued disrespect? Are the current Igbo leaders that weak, that they cannot handle politicians from other regions? I hope you are indeed right. The only strong Igbo politicians that I have seen counter elites from other parts of Nigeria is Orji Uzor Kalu, who is a man that I hate. T.A. Orji seems like a man who is not afraid to speak his mind concerning the plight of the Ndigbo in Nigeria.

EzeUche_:

I hope you are right, because we all know Obasanjo may be pulling President Jonathan's strings. If the S/west gets that coveted position, even after their lackluster support of PDP, I swear the Ndigbo will need to do something drastic. Are you not tired of this continued disrespect? Are the current Igbo leaders that weak, that they cannot handle politicians from other regions? I hope you are indeed right. The only strong Igbo politicians that I have seen counter elites from other parts of Nigeria is Orji Uzor Kalu, who is a man that I hate. T.A. Orji seems like a man who is not afraid to speak his mind concerning the plight of the Ndigbo in Nigeria.

When it comes to politics, Uzor Orji Kalu may be the best hands down,but, his problem is that he doesn't know where to draw the line. He connives even against his own people. If the SE politicians don't get either senate presidency or speaker, if they want to be respected or taken seriously, they'd dump PDP and join APGA, which is looking good right now because of the Imo victory.

Chyz*:

When it comes to politics, Uzor Orji Kalu may be the best hands down,but, his problem is that he doesn't know where to draw the line. He connives even against his own people. If the SE politicians don't get either senate presidency or speaker, if they want to be respected or taken seriously, they'd dump PDP and join APGA, which is looking good right now because of the Imo victory.

Just thinking about the waste of such talent in Orji Uzor Kalu can be quite depressing. He is an intelligent man and he is sly as a fox. Too bad he only cared about enriching his own pockets and turning Abia to his personal fiefdom. Do you know of any Igbo politician that we currently have, who can take up the mantle and fight for Igbo interest. I am not sure that Governor Peter Obi is up to the task. And I agree, SE politicians need to hold their ground against the elites from other parts of Nigeria. If they lose out in this battle, they will not only be respected, they will be considered enemies to the interest of the Ndigbo. However, I do think it is a good idea, if the worst case scenario happens, they leave PDP en masse and join APGA. Lets see if they have Igbo interest at heart.

EzeUche_:

Just thinking about the waste of such talent in Orji Uzor Kalu can be quite depressing. He is an intelligent man and he is sly as a fox. Too bad he only cared about enriching his own pockets and turning Abia to his personal fiefdom. Do you know of any Igbo politician that we currently have, who can take up the mantle and fight for Igbo interest. I am not sure that Governor Peter Obi is up to the task. And I agree, SE politicians need to hold their ground against the elites from other parts of Nigeria. If they lose out in this battle, they will not only be respected, they will be considered enemies to the interest of the Ndigbo. However, I do think it is a good idea, if the worst case scenario happens, they leave PDP en masse and join APGA. Lets see if they have Igbo interest at heart.

Peter Obi is a true fighter for Igbo interest, this article is an example of it,but, he is not a POLITICIAN. Uzor Orji Kalu could have been that dude but money and power is his detriment. What we need right now is an Igbo POLITICIAN who fights for Igbo interest, sadly at the moment we dont have that. Our strength is in our women,politically our men are weak. Our women should be the HEADS and the men the ARMY. Ngige screwed us up when he sold out and cheated to oust Dora. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would have been great but she is now working for the World Bank.

Chyz*:


Peter Obi is a true fighter for Igbo interest, this article is an example of it,but, he is not a POLITICIAN. Uzor Orji Kalu could have been that dude but money and power is his detriment. What we need right now is an Igbo POLITICIAN who fights for Igbo interest, sadly at the moment we dont have that. Our strength is in our women,politically our men are weak. Our women should be the HEADS and the men the ARMY. Ngige screwed us up when he sold out and cheated to oust Dora. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would have been great but she is now working for the World Bank.

That is what I often hear of Peter Obi. He is good businessman and he knows how to make good political connections, but when he deals with the local politics of his state, he is quite a disappointment. I hear that there is widespread dissatisfaction with his administration. All I hope is that he does not waste the goodwill that Ojukwu gave him in order to get elected. You are right! Our women should be leading the way. Many Igbo female politicians seem more politically astute than the men. Maybe there is need of an Iron Lady who can defend Igbo interest. Since Igbo women have always been the source of our culture and history and even challenged the English colonial authorities, maybe we should tap into that historical reality.

Lets see how this whole thing develops.

I am not a PDP insider, heck I never liked the party. Just supported Jonathan, and I hope he is smart enough to realize the implication of pandering to the whims of Obasanjo. He is the president. End of story.

As for Igbo politicians, it is time they prove where their loyalty lies; whether with PDP or with Ndigbo. They must choose. And I don't see Ndigbo backing down on these minimal demands.

I am happy that we have settled an age old question, which is whether to stand for fairness, or to stand for our own interest and survival. I am especially happy that PDP and GEJ got at least 85% and 97% support respectively in SE.

Onlytruth:

Lets see how this whole thing develops.

I am not a PDP insider, heck I never liked the party. Just supported Jonathan, and I hope he is smart enough to realize the implication of pandering to the whims of Obasanjo. He is the president. End of story.

As for Igbo politicians, it is time they prove where their loyalty lies; whether with PDP or with Ndigbo. They must choose. And I don't see Ndigbo backing down on these minimal demands.

I am happy that we have settled an age old question, which is whether to stand for fairness, or to stand for our own interest and survival. I am especially happy that PDP and GEJ got at least 85% and 97% support respectively in SE.

I was waiting for your insight on this issue. My view concerning this internal PDP discord is a wait and see approach. We do not know what will come out of this battle between the political elites in PDP. I just hope President Jonathan does not fail us, because it will not bode well between SS/SE relations. Why are SS leaders mute on this issue though? I wonder about them, but I will not say what is on my mind yet, because I do not know their thoughts on the issue.

EzeUche_:

That is what I often hear of Peter Obi. He is good businessman and he knows how to make good political connections, but when he deals with the local politics of his state, he is quite a disappointment. I hear that there is widespread dissatisfaction with his administration. All I hope is that he does not waste the goodwill that Ojukwu gave him in order to get elected. You are right! Our women should be leading the way. Many Igbo female politicians seem more politically astute than the men. Maybe there is need of an Iron Lady who can defend Igbo interest. Since Igbo women have always been the source of our culture and history and even challenged the English colonial authorities, maybe we should tap into that historical reality.

My fear is that as one APGA state emerges in the SE, the other submerges. Obi is going to have to get things together,what ever that problem may be.

Chyz*:

My fear is that as one APGA state emerges in the SE, the other submerges. Obi is going to have to get things together,what ever that problem may be.

That is one of my fears as well. Peter Obi needs to change the people's perception of him very quick. My hope is that APGA will spread throughout the entire S/east, but we at least have PDP politicians nationally. That would be the best strategic plan for the Ndigbo. APGA locally, PDP nationally.

Onlytruth:

Lets see how this whole thing develops.

I am not a PDP insider, heck I never liked the party. Just supported Jonathan, and I hope he is smart enough to realize the implication of pandering to the whims of Obasanjo. He is the president. End of story.

As for Igbo politicians, it is time they prove where their loyalty lies; whether with PDP or with Ndigbo. They must choose. And I don't see Ndigbo backing down on these minimal demands.

I am happy that we have settled an age old question, which is whether to stand for fairness, or to stand for our own interest and survival. I am especially happy that PDP and GEJ got at least 85% and 97% support respectively in SE.

I agree, it is either we get those positions which we rightfully deserve or we decamp to APGA. They need to understand that it isn't about them but the imagine of our people. I don't see why Igbo politicians from Delta state aren't saying anything. If the SE doesn't get either positions, they(Delta Igbo politicians) can kiss Anioma State good-bye. I doubt we are even going to be given the chance to have governorship for Delta in 2015 like promised,especially with Ogboru or Edwin Clark around. If the SE PDP decamps, I hope the south-south Igbo politicians know that it is over for them. This is why I always side with the SE because SS Igbo politicans are very insecure.

@Ezeuche,

Frankly, it is too early to know how this would end because of some "duhs" in the prognosis.  

Some things are immediately obvious though; for instance, Jonathan is not showing himself a strong person as president, and I say so because an old retired man like Obasanjo is still dictating things in PDP. Secondly, it is self evident enough that if Ndigbo had gone for the VP to a northern candidate, Jonathan would not have won.
That is why talked about the "duhs".

If I were among top Igbo politicians now, I would simply ensure that we maintain our rejection of Secretary to the FG.
They should give it to other zones.  

When we start showing that we are serious with pulling out of Nigeria altogether if these nonsense scenarios continue, everyone will come back to their senses.

We need to move out of PDP en masse and join APGA. From there we should hold an all Igbo conference to deliberate on how to leave Nigeria. Believe me, if we put our heads together, we will either get our fair share in Nigeria, or SECEDE. Simple.  

EzeUche_:

That is one of my fears as well. Peter Obi needs to change the people's perception of him very quick. My hope is that APGA will spread throughout the entire S/east, but we at least have PDP politicians nationally. That would be the best strategic plan for the Ndigbo. APGA locally, PDP nationally.

@bolded, you are correct. You know what though, if they don't give us any of the two positions we should collapse being in the PDP nationally as well. No more use and dump. We can just make an alliance with CPC when it comes to making decisions in the assembly and screw PDP every time.

I repeat, no one would take us serious in Nigeria until we show that we are not interested in being anything but a majority tribe that God created us to be. We can secede, and if they love themselves that much, they should not oppose our secession. They can continue without us.

The question is, Are we serious about fighting for our fair share and our right to be treated with respect?

I guess the Imo people can leave us forward from now on.

I lost confidence in Peter Obi a long time ago.

Onlytruth:

@Ezeuche,

Frankly, it is too early to know how this would end because of some "duhs" in the prognosis.  

Some things are immediately obvious though; for instance, Jonathan is not showing himself a strong person as president, and I say so because an old retired man like Obasanjo is still dictating things in PDP. Secondly, it is self evident enough that if Ndigbo had gone for the VP to a northern candidate, Jonathan would not have won.
That is why talked about the "duhs".

If I were among top Igbo politicians now, I would simply ensure that we maintain our rejection of Secretary to the FG.
They should give it to other zones.  

When we start showing that we are serious with pulling out of Nigeria altogether if these nonsense scenarios continue, everyone will come back to their senses.

We need to move out of PDP en masse and join APGA. From there we should hold an all Igbo conference to deliberate on how to leave Nigeria. Believe me, if we put our heads together, we will either get our fair share in Nigeria, or SECEDE. Simple.  

Yes, it is too early, so that is why I remain optimistic. But I am not going to lie, I am a little alarmed about the recent turn of events, but I shall remain optimistic. President Jonathan must not miss this opportunity, in rewarding those  who provided him with the most support. Without the Igbo vote, President Jonathan would not even be president of Nigeria. If he indeeds plan to dump us, there will be more bad blood between the Ndigbo and the Ijaw. We are trying to repair old wounds, but something like this would cause widespread anger in Alaigbo. As I said before, Obasanjo remains our biggest hurdle to seeing our aspirations. The North is reeling from their most recent defeat, but they can regroup at any time. SE/SS unity needs to happen, but if prominent SS leaders allow Obasanjo to mess up this opportunity, I just do not know what will happen.

Believe me, the whole problem is from SE. We need to show that we are serious in Nigeria. We cannot keep accepting any scenario. There is a time to say enough. This may be that time.
We have many options, ranging from simply realigning politically, to plans for outright secession.
But, knowing Nigeria well, secession will get us a long way. Whether we leave depends on Nigeria.
From the return to democratic dispensation in 1999 till today, all I see are sustained attempts to keep Ndigbo down.

If we don't show that we are serious, WORSE things are in store for us.

Agwo emeghi ihe ojiri wuru agwo, umu aka achiri ya n'aka.

It is time to pull our resources together and go get our due.

You guys have made some fantastic points here but we shouldn't resort to alarmist views. All these news we read on paper are just what they are; news. We do not know the mind of GEJ. He's not stupid to allow things to work out as described in the papers. He must have some surprises.

Will GEJ and PDP honestly want to live with the thought of massive decamping of Ndigbo to APGA and the overall loss of support from Ndigbo coupled with the return to the fractious relationship with the SS? No. If they've been fools all along, they wouldn't be on this one. The writing is on the wall.

Ndigbo, with a resurgent APGA, are too HUGE to be ignored in the scheme of things. Any unwise move from GEJ/PDP could signal the implosion of PDP. If such happens and there's massive decamping then ACN and APGA could form an alliance in both houses making PDP a minority party thereby leaving GEJ as the sole figure of PDP which, if he's not careful, could get impeached with the possible APGA-ACN-ANPP-CPC alliance. No, this isn't a thought they're ready to entertain.

Perhaps the most important outcome from all this is, to know whether we're really dealing with Obasanjo's third term in full gear or a fresh presidency from GEJ.

Chill out. Ndigbo's political calculations haven't yielded deficits yet!

How can you have president and senate president from the same region?. It is a ridiculous demand by ndigbo. The middle belt should retain the senate presidency.

!!

Onlytruth:

Believe me, the whole problem is from SE. We need to show that we are serious in Nigeria. We cannot keep accepting any scenario. There is a time to say enough. This may be that time.
We have many options, ranging from simply realigning politically, to plans for outright secession.
But, knowing Nigeria well, secession will get us a long way. Whether we leave depends on Nigeria.
From the return to democratic dispensation in 1999 till today, all I see are sustained attempts to keep Ndigbo down.

If we don't show that we are serious, WORSE things are in store for us.

Agwo emeghi ihe ojiri wuru agwo, umu aka achiri ya n'aka.

It is time to pull our resources together and go get our due.

I feel that we are 10 years too late, but it is better late than never. We definitely need to show the rest of Nigeria that we should be taken seriously. Hopefully, our so called leaders have began to realize this. As a majority group, it is pathetic how others do not take us seriously. Even in our own sphere of influence, some of the smaller groups mock us. It is unbelievable the amount of disrespect that we receive daily. Enough is enough should be our new mantra. I am tired of the Ndigbo being pushed around. I am tired of our leaders selling us for the highest bidder. I just hope that President Jonathan does not disappoint us, because I was starting to believe in Nigeria. If he disrespects our support of him, by giving a region that does not even support PDP such a position, there will be problems. And I know many of our brothers and sisters in Alaigbo will feel the same way. There is only so much disrespect one can take, before we turn to other means.

aloy-emeka:

How can you have president and senate president from the same region?. It is a ridiculous demand by ndigbo. The middle belt should retain the senate presidency.

C'mon man! The last time we checked, it was 2 regions. Whatever happened to geo-political zones?

dem_people:

C'mon man! The last time we checked, it was 2 regions. Whatever happened to geo-political zones?

So you want the president, senate president and speaker to come from the south while the North can only boast of the spineless VP?

aloy-emeka:

How can you have president and senate president from the same region?. It is a ridiculous demand by ndigbo. The middle belt should retain the senate presidency.

So Yaradua and Mark were from different regions,abi?

My greatest joy is that the whole Igbo are sensitized about all current political situation in the country, thanks to the massive mobilization and speaking for the first time with ONE voice in support for Jonathan.
This is not some under the table dealings. It all happened in FULL GLARE of Ndigbo. So, no one can tell us things in the future.
So, mobilizing to fight the injustice would be easy.

Let me quickly add that I still don't have any evidence to suggest that Jonathan would allow this to happen. It just doesn't make any sense. But I have since learned to adjust my brainwaves to any wavelength -from re-tar-ded and deranged levels to those of pure genius.

Like I said before, lets allow this one to play out first; but it would not hurt for us to start NOW to meet and strategize.

dem_people:

You guys have made some fantastic points here but we shouldn't resort to alarmist views. All these news we read on paper are just what they are; news. We do not know the mind of GEJ. He's not silly to allow things to work out as described in the papers. He must have some surprises.

Will GEJ and PDP honestly want to live with the thought of massive decamping of Ndigbo to APGA and the overall loss of support from Ndigbo coupled with the return to the fractious relationship with the SS? No. If they've been fools all along, they wouldn't be on this one. The writing is on the wall.

Ndigbo, with a resurgent APGA, are too HUGE to be ignored in the scheme of things. Any unwise move from GEJ/PDP could signal the implosion of PDP. If such happens and there's massive decamping then ACN and APGA could form an alliance in both houses making PDP a minority party thereby leaving GEJ as the sole figure of PDP which, if he's not careful, could get impeached with the possible APGA-ACN-ANPP-CPC alliance. No, this isn't a thought they're ready to entertain.

Perhaps the most important outcome from all this is, to know whether we're really dealing with Obasanjo's third term in full gear or a fresh presidency from GEJ.

Chill out. Ndigbo's political calculations haven't yielded deficits yet!

It is not about being alarmist, because I clearly stated that I remain optimistic about the current state of Igbo affairs. However, I am still wary of Obasanjo's influence over President Jonathan. That is why we, the Ndigbo must prepare for a worst case scenario. If we are disregarded in our vote of President Jonathan, then there should be consequences for that disrespect. I would Igbo leaders are discussing the current affairs of the Ndigbo and make sure that stand united against such an event. You can never be too sure what PDP and the elites from other parts of Nigeria are capable of. The problem with the Ndigbo are that we are too trusting of others. We have been like that since Nigeria gained its independence. Nnamdi Azikiwe trusted the North, Ojukwu trusted Awolowo etc The list is endless and we the Ndigbo have suffered dearly for our trusting nature.

Posted by: EzeUche_

It is not about being alarmist, because I clearly stated that I remain optimistic about the current state of Igbo affairs. However, I am still wary of Obasanjo's influence over President Jonathan. That is why we, the Ndigbo must prepare for a worst case scenario. If we are disregarded in our vote of President Jonathan, then there should be consequences for that disrespect. I would Igbo leaders are discussing the current affairs of the Ndigbo and make sure that stand united against such an event. You can never be too sure what PDP and the elites from other parts of Nigeria are capable of. The problem with the Ndigbo are that we are too trusting of others. We have been like that since Nigeria gained its independence. Nnamdi Azikiwe trusted the North, Ojukwu trusted Awolowo etc The list is endless and we the Ndigbo have suffered dearly for our trusting nature.

The bolded can be easily remedied. This election will provide us with all lessons we need going forward, because we spoke with one voice for the very FIRST time.
How Igbo politics evolve going forward will largely be shaped by the outcome of current politicking. As a majority tribe in Nigeria, we have a lot of power (though latent). We can regain our position by simply playing cut throat politics like others. Whoever thought that doing the right thing can bring pains. Well, like the saying goes in some countries, "no good deed goes unpunished".

Let's keep watching the games. 

Onlytruth:

Posted by: EzeUche_
The bolded can be easily remedied. This election will provide us with all lessons we need going forward, because we spoke with one voice for the very FIRST time.
How Igbo politics evolve going forward will largely be shaped by the outcome of current politicking. As a majority tribe in Nigeria, we have a lot of power (though latent). We can regain our position by simply playing cut throat politics like others. Whoever thought that doing the right thing can bring pains. Well, like the saying goes in some countries, "no good deed goes unpunished".

Let's keep watching the games. 

I am worried about the bolded response. We can continue to watch the games, but at a certain point, we are going to need to involve ourselves in such games. The Ndigbo need to do better in politics. It is as simple as that. My eyes are not only on President Jonathan, but our so called Igbo leaders. It is their time to rise up and show that they finally have realized that in order to move our region forward, we need to play the same "tribal" games that the other groups have been playing for 50 years. If they do not hold their ground against the elites who are trying to rob the Ndigbo of position that we rightfully earned, then those leaders need to be voted out like what happened in Imo state with Ohakim.

Ezeuche

By "lets keep watching the games" I meant figuratively, not literally.

And I believe that voting out our leaders is the least of what needs to happen. We need to collectively take a position on how we stay in Nigeria, or how we leave. We cannot continue getting the same result after making so much sacrifice for Nigeria.
My Nnewi folks say "Ije ekweghi ojije, o ga ekweriri onuna" (if a journey proves too tasking to continue, it cannot prove too tasking to discontinue)

We need to begin now to organize ourselves around a new paradigm. What that paradigm becomes, must be a response to political realities in Nigeria. We must lose emotions and our sense of fairness to survive in Nigeria. We will need the same things to leave if we must.