Politics
By Anthony Isibor.
THE executive of the South East and South-South Professionals, SESSPN, has called for a broad consensus across the country and on all the political parties to zone the presidential slot to the South.
The group, which decried the continuous marginalization of the zone from the top office in the country, said that although the region “have lived under the impression that the war ended in 1970, a continual deliberate policy of exclusion has ensured that the South East has been canceled out of political consideration for the president of this country”.
According to the 2022 SESSPN Executive annual general meeting report, signed by Hannibal Uwaifo, President General, and Ireke A. Kalu-Onuma, Secretary-General to the general assembly, the group noted that the national elections would take place in the first quarter of next year and would include elections for the new president of the country, governorship elections in 9 out of the 11 states of the zones, and elections into the National and State Assemblies.
In view of all these, the SESSPN called for a broad consensus across the country and the political parties to zone the presidential slot to the South.
The group also called on the political class in the zones to bridge the divide amongst them and work towards the success of this.
It noted that “the states where governors are to be elected is of special interest to us. Hence we call on our fellow professionals to not just stand by as commentators, but to actively be involved in the process.”
“The right leadership elected is half of our problems solved. We call on our people to go and register to vote, renew their voter’s card and be conscious of the fact that their votes are as important now as ever before.
“And in the South we seriously recommended that the slot be given to the South-East Zone. Equity, fair play and common sense demands that this be done.
“The possible unity, peace and continuity of this country hinges on this,” the group said.
Realnews reports that last year after the inauguration of the executive, it promised amongst other things to put the interests of the zones of the group in constant focus and work towards making the most of the opportunities it has so as to tackle the ever-growing challenges faced.
However, the executive members at the meeting were “Candid to admit that it has not been a bed of roses for our outlined plans.
“As servant drivers sworn to keep this vehicle forward gear, we sincerely apologize for any such shortfalls perceived or real, in our responses to issues and questions that required greater speed and aptitude,” it said.
It assured that although the remaining few months in office would be challenging, it promised to develop a more robust and determined approach to delivering on realistic expectations.
“Having reviewed the impact of herdsmen, armed bandits, and criminal elements masquerading as freedom fighters in our zones, on our security, we call for a security summit of the zones, which the SESSPN pledge to support with all the resources available to us.
Noting that, “security is key to development and the peaceful wellbeing of our society”.
On the economy, they called on governments, business community, investors and professionals to work towards the zone’s agricultural independence to help fight the growing food shortages and rising cost.
It also condemned in very strong terms the ecological disaster presently happening across the Niger Delta, especially the Black soot in Port-Harcourt which is causing so many health issues.
“We call for a joint effort of both the government of the zones and world agencies and professionals from the zone to engage with each other to tackle the problem.
“The terrible effect of vandalism of our pipelines affects the immediate communities first and the rest of us. The catastrophic effects are unquantifiable and degrade the whole ecosystem further.
“The Trans Nigeria Pipeline has been down for weeks as a result of vandalism and the nation loses so much, including our indigenes who are thrown out of jobs with companies shut down.
“We demand a better-converted attention of the government of our region to curb this,” it said.
The group, while calling for continuous and constant dialogue with the agitation promoters in order to find the best way to resolve all the thorny issues mitigating against our collective search for peace, used the opportunity to commend Gov. Nyesom Wike, of River state for his recent onslaught on illegal refineries.
– Feb. 02, 2022 @ 16:12 GMT |
A.I
Tags: Hannibal Uwaifo Ireke A. Kalu-Onuma South East and South-South Professionals
