By Deji Abdulwahab

All Progressives Congress (APC) Renaissance Group has called on the National Working Committee of APC to heed the clamour of Nigerians while selecting principal officers for the 10th National Assembly

This stated in a statement jointly issued in Abuja on Thursday by the group’s National Coordinator and Secretary, Mr Jideoffor Chebe, and Mr Tajudeen Gbadamosi.

According to the statement, the group urges party’s leadership to be sensitive to the clamour for national healing to prevent the country from being further divided along ethnic and regional lines.

The APC leadership had on May 8, reached a resolution on the two key offices in the National Assembly following a meeting of the NWC, at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.

After the meeting, Felix Morka, National Publicity Secretary of the party, said the NWC reached a compromise on the zoning arrangement for the 10th National Assembly.

“The zoning arrangement reported to the NWC is as follows: Senate President: South-south, Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Deputy Senate President: North-west, Senator Barau Jubrin (Kano); Speaker, House of Representatives, North-west, Hon. Abass Tajudeen (Kaduna); Deputy Speaker, South-east, Hon. Ben Kalu (Abia).

“We urge our party leaders, members, and all Nigerians to continue to work for peace and progress of our country during and beyond the current period of leadership transition.”

The group, however, urged the party leadership to ensure that selection of principal officers for the 10th National Assembly reflected the ethnic and regional diversity of the country.

“The present situation needs to be quickly addressed so that every part of the country will have a sense of identity in Nigeria.

“Otherwise, what is there to tell anyone from the north-central which has contributed immensely to President Bola Tinubu’s victory.

“We urge the National Working Committee (NWC) to do the needful, and correct a mistake already made before it becomes our national culture.’’

According to the group, this will breed resentment, kill patriotic zeal in country men and women, as well as create a system of thinking where people wait for their turn to take their bounds of flesh.

It also expressed confidence that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration would bring the much needed national healing that the country desired.