Cede 10th Assembly Deputy Speaker to South South – Coalition tells members

By Christiana Ekpa

A coalition of Civil Society Organizations under the aegis of Progressive Parliamentary Support Alliance (PPSA) on Thursday urged all Members-elect in the 10th Assembly to unanimously cede the position to a Christian lawmaker from South South region.
The Coalition’s position followed a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Hon. Bala Mohammed and Secretary, Hon. Boboye Akinrefon which was made available to Parliamentary Correspondents in Abuja,
They expressed their solidarity for the incumbent Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Power, Honourable Reverend Francis Waive, member representing Ughelli North Ughelli South Udu Federal Constituency of Delta State.
The coalition stressed that the election of a Christian Deputy Speaker will go a long way to balance religion, equity and justice in tandem with federal character principle in the 10th Assembly, the Coalition revealed that Honorable Reverend Francis Waive has all it takes to deputize the Speaker in the 10th Assembly.
The Coalition specifically emphasised the need to ensure that Christians have adequate representation in the Body of Principal Officers in the Green Chamber, urging President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to cede the position of Deputy Speaker in the 10th Assembly to Christians from the South South geo-political zone in person of Hon. Francis Waive.
The Group equally argued that after diligence assessment of all the lawmakers from the South South region, it found Honourable Reverend Francis Waive worthy of being elected as the Deputy Speaker.
Hon. Waive is the incumbent Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Power and member of several Standing Committees in the 9th Assembly.
“We wish to put on record that we are not opposed to the choice of a Muslim Speaker in the 10th Assembly, but we wish to unequivocally demand for religious balancing especially among the two Principal Officers – Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
“This becomes very germane to the principles of fairness and equity. Recall that Nigerians and Christian Community took it in good faith when the leadership of APC resorted to the Muslim-Muslim joint ticket in the 9th Assembly.
“And it is very expedient to point out that with the Muslim-Muslim joint ticket which was replicated with the choice of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Kasim Shettima, the Parliament should reflect religious balancing.
“From a series of assessments carried out on all the three geo-political zones – South South, South West and South East, we can attest to the character and personality of Honourable Reverend Francis Waive as the man fit for the job.
“Our assessment was premised on the proficiency and high sense of responsibility discharged by Hon. Francis Waive as Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Power.”