BREAKING(SPEAKERSHIP): FORMER SENATE PRESIDENT, WABARA BACKS HON. ORJI (IKUKU), URGES OTHER CONTENDERS TO STEP DOWN

Wabara who is the Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party Board of trustees also canvassed that the next deputy speaker of the state Assembly should be Chief Paul Taribo.

He spoke against the backdrop of the current war of words between the supporters of the outgoing speaker Mr. Chikwendu Kalu and the supporters of Orji who is the majority leader of the state.

[caption id="attachment_42506" align="aligncenter" width="774"] A former Senate President Chief Adolphus Wabara - speaking during the press conference[/caption]

Orji is the first son of a former Governor of the state and the senator representing the Abia Central senatorial zone Chief Theodore Orji.

Wabara who addressed Journalists in Aba , the commercial hub of the state 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 since his party won majority seats in the state Assembly, the just thing to do was to zone the speaker position to a political block which has no political office is occupying.

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".