*North-West may get deputy speaker
* Bode George okays retention of current zoning arrangement

By Henry Umoru, Abdulwahab Abdulah & Dapo Akinrefon

THERE were very strong indications yesterday that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at  its  meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan during his retreat at Obudu Ranch, Cross River State, may have knocked out the  South-East from the race for the speaker of the House of Representatives for the 7th Assembly on religious ground.

It was gathered that since the PDP caucus is considering a Muslim for the speakership, the  coast is almost  clear for the South-West to retain the position.

According to the arrangement, because the North-Central is tipped to retain  the position of the Senate president with Senator David Mark being the most favoured and being a Christian, the president a Christian, vice president a Muslim, the equation would then be balanced with a Muslim speaker.

The office of the deputy speaker, with the zoning formula reportedly agreed at  the Obudu meeting, is earmarked for the North-West, the North-East gets the office of the national chairman of the PDP, while the South-East gets the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and deputy Senate president.

Also ahead of the composition of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, and Boards of federal establishments, the leadership of the PDP has written to state chapters of the party to submit ten names each for consideration.

Sunday Vanguard gathered  that the letters, signed by the deputy national secretary, Dr. Musa Babayo,  have already been dispatched to the states.

According to a source, the letters,  addressed to the state party chairmen, were  copied state governors that have governors on the platform of the PDP, just as some stakeholders of the party in the states among whom are members of the Board of Trustees, BoT, former governors, members of the National Executive Committee, NEC, national vice chairmen of the zones, among others, are also expected to make inputs into who makes the list from the states.

Meanwhile, a  deputy national chairman of the  PDP, Chief Olabode George, says  the adoption of the current  zoning of the nation’s top political offices will guarantee  peaceful co-existence.

Also, contrary to the allegation that he is fighting former President Olusegun Obasanjo,  George said  he bears no grudge against him, saying, however, that  he was shocked  that  Obasanjo could publicly deny  him  by saying he is a criminal, when he knew he (Bode George) committed no crime.

In an interview with Sunday Vanguard, the PDP chieftain said the party has a tradition of shifting the top  political offices  whenever the office of the president emerges from any part of the country.

He said, “Traditionally, the culture of the party is that there are six positions that are always zoned. The office of the president, vice-president, Senate president, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the national chairman of the party, which is also in line with the six geo-political zones.

That is why you see the past leaders of the party sharing the offices to  guarantee the unity of the country. This has made the democracy of the party and that of the country to last till this moment. That is why we called it ‘Turn by Turn Nigeria Limited.”

Commenting on his relationship with Obasanjo, he said, “I do not bear any grudge against Baba Obasanjo, but I was shocked to my bone marrow when he was responding to allegations of corruption against me which was a political conspiracy against my person. Well, when the time comes, everything will be made public.”