Former Senate President, Chief Adolphus Wabara, has thrown his weight behind the majority leader, and member representing Umuahia Central Constituency, in the Abia House of Assembly, Hon Chinedum Orji, for the post of speaker in the soon-to-be inaugurated 7th Abia Assembly.
The former Senate President, urged the contenders of the Abia state House of Assembly speakership position to shelve their swords and support Orji in the interest of justice and equity.
Wabara, who is the Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees (BoT), also canvassed that the next deputy speaker of the state Assembly should come from Ukwa East local government area of Abia.
He backed Chief Paul Taribo, the current member representing Ukwa East state constituency for the seat of Deputy Speaker of the seventh Assembly.
This came following the current war of words between the supporters of the outgoing Speaker, Rt. Hon. Chikwendu Kalu and the supporters of Hon. Chinedum Orji over who to lead the incoming 7th Assembly.
Chinedum Orji is the first son of a former governor of the state and the senator representing the Abia Central senatorial zone, Chief Theodore Orji.
The PDP chieftain, who addressed newsmen in Aba, Abia State on Sunday, argued that his stand as an elder states man, whose job was advisory was to maintain the political peace the state had enjoyed under Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for the past four years.
He said, “Our party believes in zoning of political offices. We also believe in macro and micro zoning of offices to ensure that power rotates among the political blocks equally. The Governor is from the Ukwa/Ngwa political block in the Abia South senatorial zone, his deputy is from Old Bende bloc in the Abia North senatorial zone, so the just thing to do is to zone the speakership position to the Abia central senatorial zone.
“But in doing that we must be careful to consider the fact that Abia Central senatorial zone cuts across the Ukwa/Ngwa and old Bende political blocs and for the sake of equity, it will not be just for the Ukwa/Ngwa block that produced the Governor to also produce the speaker. Based on that we argued that old Bende axis should produce the speaker from the Umuahia area, while Ukwa/Ngwa axis should take the deputy speaker, but this time around the Ukwa nation should have the slot since the Governor is of the Ngwa nation.”
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