A renowned rights activist of global repute, and Convener/National President of Campaign for Dignity in Governance (CDG), Comrade Razaq Olokoba has warned against the body languages of some alleged saboteurs who he suspected want to rob the North Central Region of the country of its rights to partake in the leadership contests of the Upper Legislative Houses because of the chairmanship seat of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), located in the zone.
Governor of Kwara State, one of the states in the region, Abdur-Rahman Abdur-Razaq was recently unveiled as the Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), to replace the outgoing Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, whose second constitutionally allowed term ends next Monday.
And recall that, given the on-going scrambles for leadership slots of the National Assembly ahead its proclamation next week, Olokoba was not comfortable that, some people in some quarters in the zone were planning to scuttle the chances of the zone in the race clarifying that, Chairmanship seat of the NGF and the National Assembly leadership positions are not in the same political spheres.
The outspoken Chartered Public Administrator (CPA), and Security Consultant therefore vehemently opposed to a situation whereby the Kwara State Governor’s current position as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), would be seen as a replacement for the North Central Region’s rights to contest for leadership positions of the 10th National Assembly because according to him, both offices don’t erase each other’s right of contest.
The die-hard pro-democracy advocate made his stand on the issue known at a media parley in Lagos Thursday where he asserted that, Governor Abdur-Rahaman Abdur-Razaq’s choice as the NGF Chairman has nothing to do with the right of the contry’s Central zone’s rights to occupy some executive positions of the 10thNational Assembly-Senate and the House of Representatives, pointing out that, “there has been a precedents in the recent past where the same region combined both the NGF’s seat with the speakership office of the House of representatives.
“When former governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi (JKF) was the NGF Chairman, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila also from Lagos State, the same South Western zone of the country was the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” Olokoba reminded, stressing that the current Kwara State governor’s position like Fayemi’s should therefore not jeopardize the central geo-political zone the deserved leadership positions of the National Assemblies for the sake of fairness and equity just as the south-west had earlier enjoyed it.
“However, our advocacy not to scheme out the region in the affairs of things in the 10th Assembly is borne out of the justice, fairness and equity that have been always the hallmarks of the human rights groups all along because there are similar efforts of the right organizations in similar situations in the past.
“During the June 12, 1993 debacle occasioned by the unjust annulment of the presidential election, the Campaign for Democracy (CD), the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), along with other like mind pro-democracy groups rose up to fight for it till the present Muhammadu Buhari administration recognized the date as the authentic Democracy Day.
“When the late President Umoru Musa Yar’Adua died in office, the same set of pro-democracy and human rights organizations rose in unison on the platform of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), to fight for his vice, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to complete his tenure and even contest and win his separate tenure without minding his ethnicity. It was just on fairness and equity. The instrument of Child of Necessity was invoked to install former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“And no sooner President Muhammadu Buhari mounted the throne of power in 2015 than the coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), started the campaign for power shift and rotational presidency from the north to the south that eventually paved the way for the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Bola Tinubu, who is going to be inaugurated as the substantive President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Monday, May 29, 2023.
“So, now that the North Central appears missing in the scrambles for the leadership positions of the two National Assemblies, we owe it as part of our democratic responsibilities to rise up again in unison to fight for the region too because in the sphere of rights activism, fairness, equity and justice is to be seen as being done equally to all the regions irrespective of which political party the region leans towards predominantly,” Olokoba declared.
He therefore cautioned the political class of the zone to abhor selfish sentiments to fight together for the collective rights of the good people of the region charging the people of the zone to also hold their leaders responsible should their conducts jeopardize them of their inalienable rights in the contest for the National Assembly posts, warning the region’s leaders to remember that their attitudes today in the matter on ground would automatically rub on their fate in their political future in the zone because what goes round comes round.
“It is gratifying to note that the region is highly blessed with versatile high calibre human resources in terms of political sagacity, legislative acumen and social standing. And so, it would be embarrassing should such axis be side-lined in the scheme of electing eligible National Assembly officers that would steer the ship of the legislative houses to the promise land?!
“Sacrificing the right of a region to the leadership of the two upper Legislative Houses on the wrong premises of different democratic camps; to say the least would amount to being unnecessarily unfair and it would be unacceptable. We will resist the injustice with all the democratic means within our disposal. When the time for proper contest for the positions commences, we know the right things to do within our democratic rights,” Olokoba concluded.
