An All Progressives Congress political group, under the auspices of Ekiti Progressive Force(EPF), has appealed to the seventh Ekiti State House of Assembly to respect zoning and ranking in electing the next Speaker.
Gov. Oyebanji
The group which posited such decision will yield robust legislation and coherence in governance tasked Governor Biodun Oyebanji and party’s top echelon to play stabilizing leadership role, by ensuring that the next Speaker emerges from Ekiti North Senatorial District among the ranking APC lawmakers.
The political body, said this in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti, on Thursday, and signed by its Chairman, Hon Ojo Alonge and Secretary, Chief Emmanuel Daramola.
The political organisation said allowing the North Senatorial district to occupy the plum seat would entrench political balancing and sense of belonging that will stabilize the progressive government of Governor Oyebanji, that is presently gathering traction and acceptability among the populace.
It maintained that allowing a ranking lawmaker the latitude to emerge the speaker would facilitate robust legislation, guided by experience that would lubricate frictions in governance and ease the execution of the six -point agenda of the current governor.
The body added that Governor Oyebanji, as an avid respecter of the rule of law and democratic principles, and the APC’s top hierarchies shouldn’t pander to the anti-progressive forces canvassing the jettisoning of the Order 2 Rule 4 of the harmonized Rules and Standing Order of Ekiti State House of Assembly, which makes it mandatory for a ranking lawmaker to be elected speaker.
The group stated that the Ekiti would be the ultimate gainers, if people with cognate experiences are allowed to superintend over the coming assembly as presiding officers, saying this will automatically reflect in the quality of governance.
The statement said; “We quite appreciate the homogeneity of our dear state, but this doesn’t diminish the fact that we stand on three tripod based on geographical location of our three Senatorial structures. Under this context, the positions of Governor, Deputy and Speaker must spread across for political balancing.
“For equity, justice and fair-play, the Speakership should be zoned to Ekiti North, since the Governor and Deputy Governor had emerged from the Central and South Senatorial Districts.
“This was the practice under the regimes of Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Ayo Fayose, Segun Oni and Kayode Fayemi and the coming one can’t deviate or negate this well entrenched norm.
“Even the national politics had aligned with zoning and spread of political positions across the six geopolitical zones, hence, the deafening agitations dogging the scramble for the 10th National Assembly presiding and principal offices for equity, balancing and fair-play in the polity”, the group stated.
On modality to be adopted for the emergence of the right man for the speakership position, the group emphasized that it would spell doom for governance should ranking be jettisoned for the mergence of a rookie to pilot the affairs of the Seventh Ekiti Assembly.
It said; “Election of ranking lawmakers for the presiding officers of the speaker and Deputy Speaker is sancrosanct. It has become a well entrenched norm backed by the statutory standing order of the House, and it has to be applied in the interest of all of us.
“Order 2 Rule 4 of the harmonized Rules and Standing Order of Ekiti State House of Assembly impressed it on lawmakers-elect to elect ranking members as presiding officers. This had since been adopted in the National Assembly.
“As much as our party, APC, has the inalienable right to meddle in the affairs of how the principal officers emerge based on the principle of party supremacy, we are bold to say that no section of our law or standing order should be abridged.
“And APC being the dominant party by representation should be circumspect of its actions. We appeal to the leaders that all the relevant standing orders should be respected to avert internal crisis that could frustrate executive-legislature smooth relationship under Governor Oyebanji-led government” .