Guardian

THE 1999 constitution, as amended, did not recognize the rotation of the post of the President of the country or any other elective positions at the national level among the states that make up the country, or the geo-political zones or the senatorial zones or even the federal constituencies across the country.

Some political parties, which tried to enshrine zoning or rotation of political offices in their constitutions, did so for political exigency and strategic reasons. One of such political parties is the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which adopted zoning formula in sharing political offices since 1999, but the formula was put to test following the demise of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, a northerner who was on his first term in office on May 10, 2010.

With his Vice, President Goodluck Jonathan’s assumption of office as his successor and subsequently elected as the President of the country in the 2011 general election on PDP platform, amidst protests and agitations by some Northerners that the zone should be allowed to complete its eight years in office, it appears the centre can no longer hold in the party and the country.

Ahead of the 2015 general election, political tension is already gathering momentum in the across the country over whether President Jonathan should contest or leave the stage for the North to produce the next President.

Pro-Jonathan supporters mainly from the Niger Delta region are insisting that the President should be allowed to run for second term in the interest of peace, especially in the Niger Delta Region, the revenue base of the country.

On the other hand, the Northerners led by the Northern Elders Forum are also adamant that President Jonathan should not run for second term in the interest of peace, fairness and equity in the country.

Also across the 36 states of the federation, the situation appears to be the same, less than two years to 2015 general elections as the political gladiators in three senatorial zones in each state square up against each other over which zone should produce the governor in 2015.

Investigations reveal that since the return of democracy in the country in 1999, while one particular senatorial zone has continued to produce governor in some states against the remaining zones using population, ethnicity-cum-religious advantages, governorship position in other states has been rotating among the three zones in the states based on political understanding among the people of the states.

It is obvious that the clamour and agitation for the creation of more states might not be unconnected with the problems of power dominance by one particular zone or ethnic group in the state, which brought about the neglect and suppression of the remaining zones in the states.

The clamour for Apa State by the Idoma people of the present Benue State, is for them to have freedom from the dominance of Tiv people in the state who have continued to produce governors in the state with their numerical strength against the Idoma minority.

This might be the reason why the Senate President David Mark who is an Idoma by tribe, has allegedly touted that power rotation among the three zones be included in the ongoing constitutional amendment.

The development has also brought to fore the hypocrisy of political leaders who will say different things on issues pertaining power struggle ahead 2015 between the North and the South at the national level, only to champion different agenda in their respective states.

Although some have argued that making rotation or zoning of political offices a constitutional issue might encourage mediocrity in the election of public office holders across the country, others are of the opinion that it will reduce political crisis and cost of election and at the same time promote equity and fairness in the polity.