Due to Nigeria's complex make up, major political offices are carefully shared between the country's six geo-political zones to make everyone feel included. Under the new government, however, things have become complicated as the southeast surprisingly got the deputy speakership when senate president Bukola Saraki entered into a deal with the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Ever since the election of Senators Saraki and Ekweremadu, the APC has been up in arms, saying that as the ruling party, it should produce the principal officers of the senate. Senator Ekweremadu has come under increasing pressure to resign as he cannot be removed without a two-thirds majority.
Looking for a way to solve the impasse, the APC leadership has appealed to political leaders across the southeast to urge Senator Ekweremadu to stand down in return for the zone being offered the influential position of secretary to the federal; government. Since his emergence alongside Senator Saraki in what is now known as the hybrid leadership, there has been no let on the part of those who wanted the deputy senate president out, with the Enugu senator coming under severe attacks in the media.
An alleged criminal case was also hewn out of his controversial election, leading to a police invitation for alleged forgery, a move defined by the PDP as a plot by the APC to take remove him then force Senator Saraki to conduct a fresh election for a deputy from the ruling party. With efforts at forcing him out not yielding the desired result, those pushing for Senator Ekweremadu’s ouster are said to have shifted ground to a more persuasive and negotiated one.
It is being argued that the secretary to the federal government is a more influential office than the office of the deputy senate president but is always held at the pleasure of the president. While it could not be confirmed if President Muhammadu Buhari is part of the deal, his objection to Senator Ekweremadu’s emergence has been undisguised.
Former Abia State governor Ogbonnaya Onu is largely seen as the leading candidate for the post. A delegation of southeast leaders and elders, who are not overtly political but with sympathy for the APC, may be arranged to visit President Buhari in days ahead to secure a firm commitment on the proposal.
While the secretary to the federal government is said to be very appealing to a lot of Igbo elders, considering the numerous opportunities it presents to the people of the zone at the federal level, the reality of holding it at the pleasure of the president and without a clear-cut job security is said to be giving a lot of concern among those approached with the idea. One source said Ndigbo would have jumped at the offer were it to be coming from a platform headed by someone outside of the Hausa/Fulani area.
He added: “The north never liked us since the time of civil war, so how can anyone trust anyone with something like this even if this is coming from the president himself. What if anyone appointed is fired in less than a year?
“If Obasanjo were to be the president and such deal is offered, Ndigbo would take it and ask Ekweremadu to leave their deputy Senate wahala for them. We can’t even trust Jonathan with this kind of deal despite doing us well, so this kind of talk with a Buhari presidency is not a risk worth taking.”
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