Elected members of the 10th House of Representatives on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South-West zone, are pushing for the position of Minority Leader.
The South-West PDP caucus decided to ask the party’s national leadership to help them get the position during a meeting held on Friday in Abuja over the partition of leadership positions in the minority caucus.
Reports claimed that the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, and the governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, who are the two PDP governors from South-West and the 2023 PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, consented to a letter written to the national leadership of the party asking for the minority leadership position to be zoned to the South-West.
Others who reportedly consented to the letter reportedly include the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and the governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed.
The letter has the signature of all the 15 PDP members-elect from Oyo, Osun, and Ondo states and was addressed to the PDP’s acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Ililya Damagum.
It was dated June 9, 2023, and was titled: “Appeal for your intervention on the zoning of the position of Minority Leader in the 10th Assembly of House of Representatives”.
The letter reads, “We, the undersigned, being elected members of the House of Representatives from the South-West zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wish to respectfully invite Your Excellency to intervene in the issue of the zoning of the Minority Leader in the 10th Assembly, which is due for inauguration on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.
“Your Excellency will note that the position of the Minority Leader in the 8th and 9th Assemblies of the House of Representatives was occupied by the Rt. Hon. Leo Ogor and Rt. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, respectively, were both from the South-South zone of the country. This is a cumulative period of eight successive years.
“We wish to also draw your attention to an agreement among members-elect of the minority caucus of the House of Representatives that the position of the Minority Leader should be ceded to the southern part of the country for the next Assembly. It is, therefore, our considered view that in the interest of fairness, equity, and justice, the South-West should be duly considered to fill this position of Minority Leader in the 10th Assembly of the House of Representatives. Apart from fulfilling the core values of inclusiveness and justice, which our party is noted for, this will also greatly boost the morale of our party members and help in the strengthening of our party in the zone and the country at large.
“We assure Your Excellency and the entire leadership of our continuous loyalty and commitment to the growth, stability, and progress of the Peoples Democratic Party. We thank you most sincerely for your support and pray that the Almighty God continues to guide you in the discharge of your responsibilities. Please, see the attached list of signatories to this very important request.”
