Elder statesman and governorship candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) in the 2007 election in Rivers State, Chief Sergeant Chidi Awuse has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to appoint the next Minister of Defence from the South-South geo-political zone of the country.
Awuse made the call in a chat with newsmen in Port Harcourt while reacting to the? sack of General Andrew Oweyi Azizi as National Security Adviser (NSA), and his subsequent replacement with Colonel Sambo Dasuki(rtd).
He stated that the sack of Azazi, who hails from the South-South zone, created an imbalance in appointments made so far by the Jonathan administration, pointing out that the appointment of somebody from the zone as Minister of Defence was the only way to correct the imbalance.
The elder statesman said: “The sacked Azazi came from the South-South region of the country and if the Presidency wants to maintain a balance in appointments, it is only natural to give the defence portfolio to somebody from the region since the new NSA comes from Sokoto State in the North-West.