National Assembly complex (file photo)
.South East lawmakers keep mum
‘A run down of the appointment of Clerk of the National Assembly has shown that the North East, North Central and North West have occupied that position as well as the South West and that has been based on ranking’
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The marginalization of Ndigbo by the the All Progressives Congress (APC) government may not end soon, as the National Assembly Commission refuses to allow Dr Chinedu Akabueze to emerge as the substantive Clerk of the National Assembly after the retirement of Mohammed Ataba Sani; and the Deputy Clerk, Alhaji Salisu A Maikassi.
Akabueze, who is the next in rank, was not allowed because he is Igbo.
It was however gathered that instead of Akabueze, the commission ordered the reappointment of a retired Clerk, even though Akabueze is a carrier National Assembly staff.
Already, the development has drawn the ire of some Pan-political pressure groups.
Recall that Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu had been championing the maintenance of equity in the key appointments at the National Assembly which led to Akabueze serving as Clerk of the House of Representatives before the latest development.
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The South East Coordinator, Nigeria In Safe Hands, Comrade Chukwuemeka Kennedy Nnebe, condemned the development in Awka, Anambra State on Tuesday.
He said, “A run down of the appointment of Clerk of the National Assembly has shown that the North East, North Central and North West have occupied that position as well as the South West and that has been based on ranking.
“But now the next in rank is from the South East and they want to change the rules of the game and our National Assembly members from the South East are there keeping mute.
“We have been making contacts with them and top chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South East over this frustrating act and they seem not to care about it.
“It is only the likes of the Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu that has been fighting for the right thing to be done and we salute him for that. ”
Nnebe further lamented that even the top chieftains of the APC of South East extraction have chosen to look the other way, while their kinsman is facing marginalization.
The group urged Kalu to continue to impress on other colleagues from the South East to ensure that the modern day marginalization doesn’t continue.
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