By thompson agu, Abuja
The likelihood of people of the South East losing out in the sharing of the principal office positions in the coming National Assembly was manifested with one of the rumored Reps-elect, Chike Okafor not considered for any position.
In the interim, Chike Okafor, who is one of the two newly House of Reps-elect members from the South East touted to be in the picture as the incoming Speaker is said to have been dumped by the leader of the APC in Imo State and Chairman of the party’s Governorship Forum, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the National Organising Secretary and Senatorial candidate for Orlu zone, Osita Izunaso and the party in the state.
Against the backdrop that no South Eastern person won the senate position to enable the zone produce the next senate president, the lot to field an aspirant for the House of Reps Speaker now fell on the South East thereby projecting Okafor as the likely person.
However, events at the national level of APC where the issue of zoning National Assembly positions is raising dust shows that South East APC, Okorocha and Izunaso are not making a case or engaged in a bargain for the South East.
It was learnt that in the pre-election arrangement of the APC among the major blocs in the country, while the North will produce the president in the person of Muhammadu Buhari, the president-elect, the West has the vice-president which Prof Yemi Osinbanjo occupies while the senate president is reserved for the South East. The inability of the party to have its candidates from the South East win any of the senatorial seats casts doubts on the chances of Ndigbo having the plum seat.
However, it was expected that in the absence of senate president position, the South East can be accommodated in the mainstream of APC as ruling party with the House of Reps Speaker position. The expected new dawn is necessitated by the emergence of APC Reps members in Okafor and his counterpart from Ideato Federal Constituency both from Imo State. The fact that Okorocha is from Ideato rules out his Reps Member-elect to project Okafor for Okigwe South Federal Constituency.
The intensive horse-trading and intrigues characterising discussions for the zoning of offices of the National Assembly further indicate that the likes of Okorocha and APC henchmen from the zone are not interested in South East picking the Reps Speaker seat through Okafor.
Trumpeta learnt that while the West piloted by the National leader of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is advancing the case of his political acolytes and outgoing minority leader, Femi Gbajamila, the North East who claims to have produced the highest number of votes for APC is rooting for Digara, a principal officer of the House.
No mention of South East or any of the two Reps Member-elect s from Imo State was considered even as Governor Okorocha, an influential factor in the APC leadership is yet to make official statement on the matter.
Trumpeta was informed that APC top shots are scared of projecting Okafor to avoid raising his political profile beyond others. It was learnt that the scintillating displays of Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha, the PDP governorship candidate, which saw him dictate the pace in the party against other major stakeholders, informed the likes of Okorocha and Izunaso to drop the idea of projecting Okafor.
Some worried APC chieftains, who chose not to allow their names mentioned are uncomfortable with the abandonment of Okafor for Reps seat. The party stalwarts reassured that Okafor’s first time status is not a barrier as PDP four years ago allotted the Speakership post to South West despite the poor number of the party’s Reps Members from the zone.
This newspaper observed that unlike other office seekers engaging in consultation and reach out to leaders and Reps-elect at the International Conference Centre, venue of the induction for new National Assembly Members, Okafor has been quiet and not engaged in the struggle for a principal office position.
