Senator Tony Nwoye, Labour, Anambra North has expressed strong reservation over what he described as the violation of the principle of federal character in the appointment of ministers saying that the Southeast zone was shortchanged.
Senator Nwoye spoke with Senate correspondents after his motion calling on President Bola Tinubu to shore up the Southeast representation in the cabinet was temporarily stepped down to allow Senate President Godswill Akpabio take up the issue with the president.
Senator Nwoye had brought up the motion on the issue with the 14 other senators from the Southeast acting as co-sponsors.
President Tinubu had named five persons from each of the five states but left out a zonal representation for the zone unlike the five other geopolitical zones in the country which got between two and three more ministerial nominees.
Reacting to the development, Senator Nwoye said:
“I am not happy about it at all and that’s why senators from the Southeast, 15 of us in number wanted to move the Constitutional point of order on Section 14(3) of the flagrant violation of that section.
“That section points out to the fact that in sharing any position that you must take cognizance of zone, federal character in any thing you are doing.
“Then Federal Character Commission Act 2004 states very firmly in Sections 5(a), 5 (b) that in doing any appointment that any minister or minister of state you must take cognisance of federal character or zone.
“Zone in this matter is geopolitical zone. Southeast zone was not given one person. One person! While other zones were given. Northwest has 3 additional, making it 10. Northeast has two making it eight because they have six states. Northcentral has extra two and added to the six states they have, they have eight. Southwest has extra three with the six states they have they now have nine. South-south with two extra now have eight. “Southeast has none and they only gave us based on states. It is unfair. It offends the principle of federal character as stated in the Constitution and the FCC Act.
“That is why we have been angling for a motion on this issue. But the Senate President in his wisdom for reasons best known to him decided that he will go and take it up with President Tinubu privately instead of moving the motion.
Senator Nwoye who said the motion has the backing of senators across geopolitical zones continued:
“Maybe it was an oversight. So what we are saying is that we are appealing to him, (President Tinubu) that is the essence of the motion that was stepped down to reflect federal character and appoint two extra ministers from the Southeast to represent the Southeast geopolitical zone.
“It is not fair that every other zone in Nigeria has extra ministers but the Southeast is the only one that doesn’t have an extra representative,” Senator Nwoye said of his motion seeking to appoint more ministers from the Southeast.
