Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has faulted zoning of the deputy speakership seat to the South East, describing it as “micro-zone insult and charade to Ndigbo.”
In a statement, at the weekend, by the President General of the body, Goodluck Ibem, and the Publicity Secretary, Okey Nwaoru, the group said it would reject it no matter the number of times the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) proposes it.
They also held that circumstances surrounding the emergence of the lawmaker, Benjamin Kalu, who is the preferred candidate for the position, were still allegedly marred by controversy.
The statement reads: “COSEYL is concerned over the latest charade by APC, which it code-named, ‘zoning National Assembly principal positions,’ wherein it zoned the office of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives to the South East, with Benjamin Kalu as the preferred candidate.
“This is an insult to the political sensibility of Ndigbo, and we reject it in its entirety, no matter those behind it.
“The circumstances surrounding the emergence of Kalu, following the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections, are still mired in controversies. There are still allegations in some quarters that the Labour Party’s (LP) candidate, Iheanyi Chinasa, would have emerged, but for the malfeasance of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials in Bende Council of Abia State.”
The apex socio-political youth group in the South East noted that in the presidential and the National Assembly elections in Abia, LP’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, polled 327, 095 votes, whereas the APC counterpart, Bola Tinubu, got 8,914 votes, yet the APC House of Representatives candidate, Kalu, was controversially announced as winner of Bende Federal Constituency with 10,020 votes, while the LP candidate scored 6,688 votes.
The group questioned how votes of entire Bende Council for Kalu were higher than the presidential votes from the other 16 councils of the state. COSEYL, therefore, claims that this exposes Kalu’s fraudulent and criminal act in the election.
