Politics
By Anthony Isibor.
THE International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Intersociety has made available a special template for what it termed ‘Peaceful 2023 top federal seats of power transition in Nigeria.’
The special guidelines recommend that the position of the president of the country in the 2023 general elections should be zoned to the South-East, vice president to the North-East, Senate President to the North-Central, Reps Speaker to the South-West, Deputy Senate President to the South-South, and Deputy Reps Speaker to North West.
It notes that from the perspective of fairness and “primus inter pares”, the Southeast Region is eminently qualified to produce the next president of Nigeria in 2023.
This, according to the guidelines, is because the Northeast Region from where Late Sir AbubakarTafawa Belewa came from, Bauchi State had held the country’s executive prime ministerial seat from the transitional period of 1957-1960 and from 1960-1966, a period of nine years.
“Cumulatively, the Northwest Region had occupied the country’s elective/executive presidency from 1979-1983, 2007-2010 and 2015-2023; a total period of fifteen years, Southwest Region 1999-2007; a total period of eight years and South-South Region 2010-2015; a total period of five years.
“Rotationally and fairly speaking, therefore, the Southeast Region, which has never occupied democratically and executively elected presidential seat since independence, is eminently the next in line, to be followed by the Northeast and North-Central Regions. In other words, the Southeast Region is the most qualified and all the aspirants jostling from the Southwest, the Northwest and the South-South Regions are, with all due respect, meddlesome interlopers. To abolish the entrenched politics of “All Muslims Affair” introduced by the present central government since its inception in mid-2015, the Southeast shall produce ‘a Christian/non-Muslim President, while the Northeast produces a Muslim Vice President.
It also recommended that the position of the Inspector General of Police should be zoned to the South East, Chief of Army Staff to the North East, DG SSS to the South-West, Chief of Naval Staff to the South-South, Chief of Air Staff to the North West, CJN to the South-East, AGF to the North-East, Appeal Court President to the North-Central, Federal High Court Chief Judge to the South-West, Solicitor General to the South-South, and the FCT Chief Judge to the North West.
This, it said, was on the basis of sections 14 (3) and 15 (4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which clearly provides for ‘geopolitical balancing’ and ‘a sense of belonging’ in the composition and sharing of top federal elective and appointive offices in Nigeria, as well as Section 17, which provides for Freedom, Equality and Justice, and Section 42 provides for Freedom from Discrimination.
“From the Armed Forces perspective, Section 217 (3) directs that “the composition of the officer corps and other ranks of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall reflect the Federal Character (geopolitical balancing) of Nigeria”. Section 10 also directs that “the Government of the Federation or a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion,” it said.
According to the statement by Intersociety, signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chair, Chinwe Umeche, Head, Democracy and Good Governance, and Chidimma Eva Udegbunam, Head, Campaign and Publicity, political actors in the North-Central, the Southwest, the South-South and the Northwest Regions in Nigeria should as a matter of moral and duty join hands with the Southeast and the Northeast Regions to credibly, popularly, fairly and peacefully produce the country’s next President and Vice President.
The recommendations by intersociety also include how to share 18 top Federal Public Offices and other positions in 2023.
The 18 top elective and appointive federal offices, which it said, would ensure the geopolitical, ethnic, and religious balancing in 2023, includes the following.
“Southeast Region-President of Nigeria (Christian/non-Muslim), Northeast-Vice President (Muslim), North-Central-Senate President (Christian/non-Muslim), Southwest-Speaker House of Reps (Muslim/Christian), South-South-Deputy Senate President (Christian/non-Muslim), Northwest-Deputy Speaker of House of Reps (Muslim). From the angle of Security/Service Chiefs: Southeast-Inspector General of Police (Christian/non-Muslim), Northeast-Chief of Army Staff (Muslim), North-Central-Chief of Defense Staff/Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (Christian/non-Muslim), Southwest-Director General of State Security Services (Muslim), South-South-Chief of Naval Chief (Christian/non-Muslim) and Northwest-Chief of Air Staff (Muslim). From the angle of top judicial officers: Southeast-Chief Justice of Nigeria (Christian/non-Muslim), Northeast-Attorney General of the Federation (Muslim), North-Central-President of the Court of Appeal (Muslim), Southwest-Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (Christian/non-Muslim), South-South-Solicitor General of the Federation (Christian/non-Muslim) and Northwest-Chief Judge of the FCT High Court (Muslim).
It stated that the above cardinal recommendation is to ensure ethnoreligious fairness and oust the present practice of “All Muslims Affair” in the country’s polity of Federal segment. Apart from offices of the country’s next President and Vice President, other top federal elective and appointive offices shall also be comprehensively balanced along the country’s multi-ethnic, cultural and religious lines or compositions.
In the same vein, the Intersociety also said that all the top executive offices listed under Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution, as well as other top Federal Government agencies and parastatals and the officer corps of the Armed Forces and their equivalents in the Nigeria Police Force, SSS, NIA and Paramilitaries, shall be shared in full compliance with the country’s geopolitical, ethnic and religious settings using the six geopolitical zonal or regional arrangements.
While adding that for the constitutional “indivisibility and indissolubility” contained in Section 2 (1) of the 1999 Constitution can never be successfully enforced by retaining and continuing with “born to rule and born to be ruled tyranny”.
“These are strange and unknown to the principles of modern plural democracy and spirit and letters of the 1999 Constitution and the UN Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Going by section 13 of the 1999 Constitution which recognizes the organs, authorities and persons exercising top executive, legislative and judicial functions in the country’s Federal, State and Local Government levels, the ‘Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders, Salaries and Allowances, Etc. specifically lists about 17500 top public office holders in the country and they include: 472 Federal Executives, inclusive of the President and the Vice President, 469 Federal Lawmakers and 142 Federal Judges totaling 1,083. There are also 2,664 State Executives, 1,152 State Lawmakers and 792 State Judges totaling 4,608.
The rest are 11,788 Local Government Public Office Holders comprising elected LGA Chairpersons, Deputies and Councilors. “It is therefore our strong recommendation that for ‘negative peace’ to reign in the country from June 2023, all the 1,083 top Federal Public Offices as well as the Officer Corps of the Armed Forces and their equivalents in the Nigeria Police Force, the Service (Intelligence) and the Paramilitary Agencies must be structured and shared in full compliance with ethnic and religious balancing or composition in the country using its six geopolitical zones or regions,” it said.
Intersociety notes that for the country to be rescued from the level of wanton destruction of lives and properties brought upon the country and its different parts by political actors of the recent past and the incumbent, political actors in the North-Central, the Southwest, the South-South and the Northwest Regions in Nigeria to morally should dutifully join hands with the Southeast and the Northeast Regions to credibly, popularly, fairly and peacefully produce the country’s next President and Vice President.
“While the Southeast shall be assisted to produce the country’s next credible and popular President, who must be a Christian/non-Muslim; the Northeast shall be urged and supported to produce the country’s next Vice President and Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic Council. He or she must be a Muslim.
“Our recommendations will temporarily bring about ‘negative peace’ or temporary reprieve to the country’s landscape troubles and open a path to positive peace. While ‘negative peace’ brings about the absence of substantial physical violence and substantial cessation of hostilities, ‘positive peace’ brings about the absence of substantial physical and structural violence.
“That is to say that the recommendations being put forward by Intersociety will launch the country into a meaningful ‘National Discourse or Talk’, especially in the areas of the raging nonviolent and violent resource, autonomy and religious agitations presently shaking the existential foundations of the country and its citizens. Intersociety hereby respectfully calls on the country’s international development partners and development and humanitarian funds providers including those part-funding Nigeria’s electoral and political process to adopt the recommendations of ours and factor them into their policies on Nigeria, especially with regard to the 2023 Elections and Federal Seats of Power Transition,” it added.
A.I
2022-02-24 @ 14:39
Tags: Chidimma Eva Udegbunam Chinwe Umeche Emeka Umeagbalasi head Intersociety
