Many aspirants contesting for the Speakership position of the 10th House of Representatives have reportedly decided to reject the zoning arrangement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and push on with their ambition.
OsunDaily News reports that those contesting to replace Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker include the House Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase, the House Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado Doguwa; the spokesperson of the House, Benjamin Kalu; the Chairman, House Committee on Navy, Adamu Yusuf Gagdi; the Chairman, House Committee on Transport, Tajudeen Abass; the Chairman, House Committee on Disabilities and Special Needs, Miriam Onuoha, the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Muktar Aliyu Betara and the chairman of the House Committee on internal security and intelligence in the 8th Assembly, Aminu Sani Jaji.
It was gathered that the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, may have settled for Senator Godswill Akpabio and Tajudeen Abass as his preferred choices to occupy the seats of the Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives, respectively.
Some aspirants from across the country’s six geopolitical zones have resolved to continue to make valid claims for the seat despite the APC’s zoning arrangements and endorsement of some aspirants.
It is understood that in a bid to avert a repeat of the revolt which led to the emergence of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Yakubu Dogara as the Speakers of the 7th and 8th House of Representatives, informed the decision by the APC to keep the issue of zoning at bay till after the inauguration of the President-elect on May 29.
According to Guardian, some of the Speakership aspirants are planning to either have their way or scuttle the impending zoning arrangement of the APC.
The minority caucus in the House, led by Fred Agbedi, warned that they cannot be cajoled into accepting the APC zoning arrangement.
The secretary of the caucus, Efosa Imasuen, also argued that with their numerical strength, the APC cannot influence the choice of the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He said: “We are more than prepared. We have more numbers than the APC. We even have some members of the APC who are ready to align with us because of our style of leadership, our style of governance, our approach to people, and the country. People are in tune with what we are doing. That gives us the impetus to think and know that if we vie for this office, we can get it and give Nigerians what they truly want – a sincere government.
“We don’t have business with APC’s zoning. We now understand certain things and how they are not sincere with a lot of things that they say and do. We remember when they said they zoned their presidential ticket to the South but had people like Ahmed Lawan running, and he was even declared the candidate of the APC at a point. So, at this juncture, we can’t even take them seriously when they say they are going to zone.”
Meanwhile, a member-elect on the platform of the PDP told Guardian that although his party’s caucus has resolved to field candidates for the speakership position in conjunction with other opposition parties, he has a preferred candidate in the ruling APC.
