An
advocacy group, Igbo Youth Assembly Worldwide (IYAW) yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration
and All Progressives Congress (APC) not
to allow exclusion of the South-east from the top positions in the country, in
the build up to the new government.
They
specifically advocated for the APC to zone Deputy Senate Presidency and the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the South-east zone as part of
the administrations drive to ensure that all zones are carried along.
They
maintained that the South-east remains a major stakeholder in the Nigerian
project and as such should be given a prime positions in this administration.
They
added that the zone gave the President and APC much more votes than in 2015,
stressing that it shows that the people from the South-east, despite the
seeming stranglehold the opposition party has over region, is ready to work
with the President and his party.
The
President general of the IYAW, Ifeanyi Nwaudunna, who stated this yesterday
while speaking to newsmen, said there are lots of “eminently qualified Igbo
sons and daughters who believe in the ideology and philosophy of the President
and the APC who willing to dedicate their service to the fight against
corruption, economic prosperity and development of the country.
He
said “we are appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership
of the APC to consider the South-east region for the positions of Deputy Senate
Presidency and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the
South-east zone.
“We
believe that this will convince that people of the South-east that the
President and the APC does not disregard them.”
Nwaudunna,
who hailed the President for declaring that his second term which ensure more
inclusiveness in governace, added that “We campaigned for President Muhammadu
Buhari and the APC in the last general elections despite the stiff resistance
we got from those who have held the people of the region down using the
opposition party.
“However
we were able to prevail by ensuring much more votes and spread for the
President and the APC unlike what transpired in the 2015 general election.
“This
was not an easy feat. As such, one of the ways the President and the APC can
help to liberate the people of the zone from the stanglehold of the opposition
party is to accord the region the position of Deputy Senate President and the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation,” he said.