APC National Convention: Ndoma-Egba pick holes in zoning formula

Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba SAN

APC National Convention: Ndoma-Egba pick holes in zoning formula


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The former Senate Leader and Secretary of the 2018 All Progressives Congress (APC) National  Convention  Planning  committee,  Senator  Victor Ndoma-Egba SAN has raised  some concerns over the zoning  of some offices in the March 26th 2022 National Convention of the party. 


Speaking in an interview with  our correspondent in Calabar on yesterday, Ndoma-Egba argued that going by the lists paraded  and made public as approved zoning  list for national offices that will  be occupied through the National Convention,  he has  not seen reflections of strategic objectives which ought to be the case. 


He said in doing zoning, there must be a reflection  of strategic  objectives. You know  and have what you want to achieve. 

“It should not just be the simplistic approach or manner of  moving offices from one zone to another zone. You should be more strategic by considering how you can use offices that are very strategic to strengthen zones that are weak. Because at the end of the day, whoever the candidate of the party is, will require to win in those other weak zones or get at least one quarter of the votes cast in each of those states.”


He cited example over his argument  with the instance of the National Secretary position, saying,  “You say you are taking it to the south west; the south west is already very strong to deliver for APC, it is perhaps the strongest zone for APC perhaps, in addition to the North. The North and the South west are the strongest parts with supports for the APC. So looking at the South west where the National secretary is being purportedly zoned to, you already have a Vice President from the zone; you have the Speaker of the House of Representatives, you have five APC governors in the zone and then you have the Jaganban himself who is more than a zone, so the South West is already satiated with strengthen that can deliver for the APC, giving them the strategic position of National Secretary adds nothing to them, its like pouring a glass of water into a river”.


He noted that there are other zones which can be said that the party is wobbling with only a toe-hold in the state. 


“For instance, the South east, has two governors: in Ebonyi State and Imo state . Ebonyi governor is second term governor that is outgoing. Imo state is a first term governor and has an incumbency advantage as we go into the 2023 election. So in the South east you can say the party has a toe-hold, not yet a foothold; just a toe-hold.”
“Then you come to the South-south, the only state with any toe-hold in the south-south for the APC is Cross River State. Recently we had By-elections in the State,  the Akpabuyo State constituency and the Ogoja –Yala Federal constituency By- election, the figures put together showed a very narrow margin of the winning which the APC secured.  So it means if we must retain Cross River State in the next election, you need to reinforce and strengthen the state with a strategic positions. Ordinarily if you ask me of the strategic objectives with the position of a secretary, I would advice it be given to the south east or the south south. But like I said, the south east has a first term governor who has the incumbency advantage going into the 2023 elections. The south south doesn’t have such advantage, the only APC Governor is doing is final term; so give it to the south-south and strengthen the zone strategically. Use it the reinforce the south-south.”
He reiterated that “giving the National Secretary position to the South west is like pouring a glass of water into the ocean.  It’s a total waste. So in my view, the zoning arrangement is not strategic enough,  it seems to have been a simple mechanical application of moving offices from one zone to another. That is just a clerical activity.”
However Ndoma-Egba expressed confidence that the March 26th APC convention will hold successfully despite the storms which he said are normal situations during convention period. 

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