S/East senators divided over marginalisation

Taiwo Adisa,Abuja - 23.06.2008

A sharp division has crept into the South-East caucus of the Senate over claims contained in a press statement issued by the chairman, Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development, Senator Ikechukwu Obiorah, that the zone was being marginalised.

Senator Obiorah had in a statement on behalf of the South-East caucus in the Senate said that the zone had rejected “peripheral offerings” in the allocations of boards of federal parastatals.

He said such offerings were vestiges of the marginalisation of the zone, which he said would be resisted by the zone.

But sources within the caucus told the Nigerian Tribune at the weekend that Obiorah spoke for himself as he had not been mandated to speak for the zone.

“Who asked him to speak and in what capacity? You newsmen should have asked him to know who mandated him to issue the statement and in what capacity,” a member of the caucus told the Nigerian Tribune.

The source said while the senators from the zone were unhappy that the area had been allocated the least number of federal board appointments, they were yet to articulate their positions as a group.

“We are yet to meet to take a holistic view of the development and reach conclusions. So he did not speak on behalf of the zone yet, since he has not been mandated to do so,” the source further said.