By Ben AGANDE,Abuja & Tony EDIKE, Enugu
Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has announced that the proposed South East Political Summit scheduled for 16th August 2010  has been postponed, saying that  with the resolution of the zoning debate by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  the summit is no longer necessary.

In a statement in Abuja  the Deputy President of the Senate commended the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) for resolving the lingering zoning debate with the outcome of its National Executive Committee(NEC) meeting of  Thursday.

The South-East Political Summit was planned to articulate the Zone’s position on zoning of the Presidency within the PDP in line with the nationwide debate
ahead of the 2011 presidential election.

Speaking on the debate on whether or not president Goodluck Jonathan should contest for the presidency, Senator Ekweremadu said ‘there is need to carry along all parts of the country by giving access to the highest position in the land. And giving the contribution of the South-South geo-political zone to the economy of the country, the PDP NEC’s decision should be viewed from this perspective.

“ it is noteworthy that on access to the Presidency of this country, the South-South has been the least favoured . This is the first time that somebody from the South-South is reaching that position after fifty years of nationhood.

The Deputy Senate President noted that it “Nigeria had in the past addressed similar injustices, like the June 12 which gave rise to the national consensus on the South west presidency of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“In the same vein, the South-East has presided over Nigeria for only six months. I hope that at the appropriate time, this point will be noted by the entire country with a view to addressing the injustice and concede the presidential slot to the South East. This sense of fairness, equity and justice is a sure foundation for peace and progress in this country.

“Time has come for the South-East to speak with one voice and for all the stakeholders to work in unison  in the overall interest of the people of the South East. South-East in the past has worked and contributed immensely to the unity and progress of this country as a major component of the nation and will never shy away from that commitment.

“The manner the PDP resolved this seeming crisis demonstrate the power of dialogue over confrontation and we should not see power as a matter of life and death but as a privilege to serve. It is important that wherever we find ourselves in power, we must be fair to all concerned and demonstrate brotherhood to all segments of the country” he said.

Before this postponement, five broad issues were scheduled to dominate the Summit
Saturday Vanguard learnt yesterday that some influential political leaders are canvassing separate stands on the issue of zoning and presidency for the 2011 elections and the organizers decided to streamline those positions to the five broad areas identified in the demands by some of the visible and vocal groups.

A source disclosed that while some politicians out of obvious interests want a South East/North alliance, others press for a South East/South-South understanding so as to clear the way for an eventual Igbo presidency in the foreseeable future.

“The other three positions that would also be critically appraised at the summit are whether the South- East should in the light of the present cloudy situation go it alone and support one of its own for the president, stand aloof from the zoning debate or negotiate with any presidential aspirant,”