Power Rotation In States, should be enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
On behalf of the Benue South For Governorship Movement, I, Comrade Daniel Edoache Atayi, do bring greetings and special regards to this esteemed Committee on constitution reviews and reforms, of the House of Representatives, under the Chairmanship of Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Ph.D, CFR
Deputy Speaker, Federal Republic of Nigeria in the 10th National Assembly.
Our Preposition before the The National Assembly Committee On Constitutional Reforms, House of Representatives.
We in this movement, for the Benue South people, strongly believe that while we await a State of Apa, from the present Benue State, the only panacea to democratic fairness, inclusivity, and brotherhood from the wanton injustices, unfairness and non political inclusivity of state power equation, is the enshrinement into the constitution, a law that guarantees the rotation of the Governorship seat across the 3 senatorial districts of the state.
We admonish this 10th National Assembly to borrow a leaf from the statement of a renowned Emancipator, Martin Luther King Jr. Who says “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”…
This to us in this movement, is not a struggle for equality, but fairness, and inclusivity in our democratic power equations since Benue State is sitting on a Tripod of Three (3) Zones; Two, out of the Three, are of the Tiv Ethnic group, while One is of the Idoma/Igede Ethnic group.
Wherein the fairness that we are asking to be enshrined into the constitution in to guarantee that while they take Two turns of Governor, we take one turn; since they have Two Senatorial districts while we have one! This, to us, is not insubordination and not equality because it’s Two to One, and rather, inclusivity, which and only the constitutional Reform could enforce!
It would be wrong to only share democratic power between Two senatorial Zones of A and B, as we have experienced all these years of our democratic journey, while leaving the 3rd zone of Benue zone C out of the power equation.
On behalf of the Benue South For Governor Movement, I present to the 10th National Assembly, a petition soliciting the enshrinement into the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Rotation of Governorship Seat across States senatorial districts for fairness, and democratic inclusivity in order to abolish the unfairness and injustices against certain Ethnic Groups in the country, particularly, with reference to Benue State and the anomaly wherein the Two Senatorial districts of A and B, continue to share the Gubernatorial seat between themselves, leaving out the Zone C Senatorial district of the Idoma/Igede Ethnic Group from the equation of the Tripod upon which Benue stands.
If the norm is allowed to continue, after this 49 years of our existence as a state, it means our nascent democracy is already defined wrongly against a people adjudged in all fields to be major contributors to the Nigeria’s enterprises, as effective tribes, with Nine (9) large Local Government Areas, but which are democratically and politically enslaved to such extent that they couldn’t be Governor for once in their own State in all successive democratic dispensations since 1979 spanning 46 years and most recent, the 4th democratic dispensation spanning 25 years from 1999!
We therefore, speak to your consciences, as the Leaders of our today’s Nigeria, and the Apex lawmaking Body whose interests are not far from tranquility, harmonity, development, and progress of all States in our Country Nigeria, to please, reform the constitution to accommodate the status-quo of these parameters of growth and unity for our democracy to thrive better, and history shall never forget this 10th National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
As a Political & Rights Activist, and Convener of the Benue South Movement for the rotation of governorship seat, I want to beg this Hallowed National Assembly, to be patriotic in what is necessary, what is egalitarian, what is just and what is fair, and to define correctly to our institutions of democracy, namely, the Independent Electoral Commission, the Political Parties in Nigeria, and the Judiciary that democracy is never, has never and should never be defined as the power of the majority alone, but the power of the people , and minority inclusive in this definition!
Sadly, it might interest you to know, that findings have shown that the Idoma/Igede Nation, are not minority as the early National Population Census of the 80s and 90s tagged us to be; the injustices are endemic in our systems, hence our appropriate push for the right enshrinement to be done, because evil, prevails, when good Men do nothing!
It then means that this reforms, should enthrone digital population Census to ascertain the true numeric strength of our people as well as other people in the country that are wrongly adjudged to be minorities.
As we seek the reforms of the constitution to accommodate these democratic parameters for peaceful coexistence devoid of ethnic bigotries, dichotomy, chauvinism and political enslavement, which are absurd to true democracy, we ask all Patriotic Citizens across the State of Benue, Comrades, Conrads, Political Ruling Class, Governimg Class, Traditional Leaders, to join in this solidarity that would enhance our democracy and to truly portray it as egalitarian enough for all Benuelites!
We thank the National Assembly, for this privilege to present this Petition and most especially, I thank our tireless Congressman of my Federal Constituency of Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo, Dr. Philip Agbese, the Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, for his legislative representation that’s always making our voices to be heard even across Benue South!
Comrade Daniel Edoache Atayi,
On behalf of the Benue South For Governor Movement.