The Igbo Youth Assembly, Worldwide (IYA), a socio-cultural organisation has endorsed Sen. Ahmed Lawan and Hon. Chike Okafor for the positions of Senate President and Speaker of the 9th National Assembly.
The group said it took the new position against the earlier position where it backed the zoning of the leadership positions to the South East.
In a communiqué released at the end of a meeting in Umuahia signed by the President Ifeanyi Nwaudunna and the Publicity Secretary, Magnus Abara and made available to newsmen, the group said it was out to support the position of the party. The group explained that the choice of Lawan and Okafor as leaders at the National Assembly would stabilise the polity and unite the country for development.
According to the group, the country will make progress if the presidency and the national assembly forged closer relations in developing policies for the development of the country. According to the communiqué, the apex body of Igbo youth group therefore retracted its earlier demand that the positions of both the Senate president and Deputy be zoned to the South East and called for party leaders to close ranks on the issue. It called on senators and members of the House of Representatives especially of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to validate the party’s endorsement of Lawan and Okafor for credible representative, equity and fairness. It described the pair of Lawan and Okafor as true party men who would leave no stone unturned in promoting the ideology of the ruling party. NAN reports that APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomole and party leaders have endorsed Lawan as the senate president for the 9th assembly.