The lawmaker from Borno State, Muktar Betara, has accused the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, of allegedly sponsoring “an unpopular candidate” to succeed him.
Betara stated this while officially declaring his intention to contest the speakership position at the Transcorp Hilton hotel in Abuja on Monday.
OsunDaily News reports that the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (NWC) on Monday evening officially zoned the position of the Speaker to the North-West, while the Deputy Speaker was zoned to the South-East.
The party nominated Hon. Tajudeen Abbas (APC-Kaduna) to succeed Gbajabiamila in the 10th assembly while Hon. Benjamin Kalu (APC-Abia) was chosen as the Deputy Speaker.
Reacting to the development at his declaration, Betara vowed to go ahead to contest for the during, stressing that Gbajabiamila chose Abbas who is unknown to many lawmakers.
He said it was a surprise to him when Gbajabiamila nominated Abass when many other members had indicated an interest in the position.
“If today, the Deputy Speaker of the house is contesting, the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee is contesting, the Majority Leader is contesting, then who’s closer (in rank) to the Speaker, ” he asked.
Present at the event were Niger Governor-elect, Hon. Umaru Bago; the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ahmed Wase; Majority Leader, Hon. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; Hon. Sani Jaji, Hon. Sada Soli, and Hon. Tunji Olawuyi.
Also present at the venue in solidarity with Betara were other members-elect from across party divides.
