10th NASS: We’re Set To Present Consensus Candidates – Greater Majority Caucus Says
As controversies continue to trail the zoning arrangement of presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly, some members-elect of the House across the different political parties, rose from a crucial meeting in Abuja on Saturday and announced their resolve to field candidates for the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
Accordingly, the lawmakers have resolved to present a consensus candidate to challenge the candidates put forward by the All Progressives Congress (APC) based on the choice of the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila which they perceived as a slap on their faces.
The resolve of the elected members was taken on Saturday in Abuja after their meeting some aspirants for the position of Speakership.
Some of the aspirants present at the meeting included, Hons. Aliyu Betara, Yusuf Gagdi, Mariam Onuoha amongst others.
The development is seen as a direct defiance of the zoning arrangement announced by the National Working Committee of the APC which has a majority of members in the House.
The APC National Working Committee said it had zoned the Senate President to the South-South and specifically anointed Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) while the position of Deputy Senate President was zoned to the North-West geo-political zone with Senator Barau Jibrin (Kano) as the preferred choice.
Similarly, the APC also zoned the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the same North-West which has the Deputy Senate President and settled for Hon. Abass Tajudeen from Kaduna with Hon. Ben Kalu from Abia State (South-East) for the position of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatibves.
However, the zoning arrangement adopted by the APC and the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has elicited reactions and sparked controversies ahead of the inauguration of the 10th NASS in June.
