From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The battle for the seat of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is getting intense by the day. At the last count, no fewer than 10 members of the House of Representatives have indicated interest to lead the next assembly.
The contenders for the seat include the deputy speaker, Idris Wase; chairman House Committee on Appropriation, Muktar Betara; chairman, House Committee on Navy, Yusuf Gadgi; former chairman, House Committee on National Intelligence in the 8th assembly, Aminu Jaji and Mariam Onuoha.
Others are chairman, House Committee on Land Transport, Tajudeen Abass; chairman, House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Abdulrahern Olawuyi; chairman, House Committee on Water Resources, Sada Soli and Yalleman Makki. On the other hand, Olaide Akinremi is eyeing the position of deputy speaker in the 10th assembly.
While Wase, Gadgi and Olawuyi are from the North Central; Jaji, Soli, Abass, Makki are from the North West; Kalu and Onuoha hail from the South East, with Betara as the lone candidate from the North East. Incidentally, he is from the same Borno State with the vice president-elect, Kashim Shettima.
Expectedly, all the contestants are from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). In line with parliamentary convention, the APC as the party with the highest number of seats is expected to produce the speaker and the deputy speaker for the 10th House.
The ruling party has so far won a total of 162 seats, in the Green chamber, in the February 25 National Assembly polls. While the opposition parties have a total of 163 seats combined- the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 102 seats; Labour Party (LP) 34 seats; New Nigerian Peoples Party ( NNPP) 18 seats.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA) has four seats while the the Social Democratic Party ( SDP) and African Democratic Congress ( ADC) have two seats each and the Young Progressive Party ( YPP) has only one seat. However, elections into 35 federal constituencies across the country are yet to be concluded.
In the last few days, contestants for the speakership seat have stepped up their campaign for the coveted position. And expectedly, there have been intrigues, horse-trading as contestants try to outwit one another. And the fact that only a few ranking members will be part of the 10th House has also raised the stakes.
However, among the contestants are those, who are actually gunning for the position of deputy speaker but have to declare interest in the number one position so as to increase their bargaining power.
Recently, the contestants have also taken their campaigns to the states, where they have met with governors and other critical stakeholders. Interestingly, some of the governors elected on the platform of the APC are also pushing for lawmakers from their states to emerge as the speaker of the 10th assembly.
In the run-up to the June 13 inauguration of the 10th assembly, the dominant issue in the speakership contest has been where the position should be zoned to.
However, while stakeholders are waiting for the APC to come up with a position on the zoning of the leadership of the two Chambers of the National Assembly, all the aspirants are making a case for the position to be zoned to their respective geo-political zones.
Nevertheless, some interest groups within the ruling party are already canvassing for the contest to be thrown open to all interested persons, irrespective of their zones.
Regardless, Gagdi says in as much as everyone is entitled to their opinion, the proper thing is for the speakership position to be zoned. The lawmaker, who believes the much coveted position should be ceded to the North Central, urged the party to ensure there is justice in deciding where the leader of the 10th House comes from.
According to him, “people may say that,( that contest should be thrown open).
They have right to do that; but it has always been zoned; why do they want it to be open this time around. Why was the presidency zoned? And the speakership is not supposed to be zoned? I think people have right to say what they want to say but the ideal thing is for us to do the zoning and I am a party man wherever the party zones, I respect the position of the party but I expect the party to put superior justice to bear.”
However, former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, in an interview on Channels Television, last week, said two of the aspirants are going to contest for the speakership seat, irrespective of where the APC decides to zone the position to.
“Two candidates will not respect zoning even if they are zoned out and that is Wase and Betara. They will run (for speakership) because I’ve had a conversation with them.
“They will go to the floor and test it. They will go to the floor and test it and, now, I tell you something: The party should not be upset with them. It is not largely because of what they want, it is because of the history of the support base they have always had,” Jibrin told the television station.
Last Thursday, the speaker, Femi Gbjabimiala met with the speakership contestants. Inside sources say the meeting was informed by speculations that the speaker was working for the emergence of a particular lawmaker as his successor. Gbjabimiala’s parley with the contestants is understandable. Majority of those who declared interest in the speakership of the 10th assembly are the speaker’s men.
Opposition lawmakers raise stakes
However, while the speakership aspirants are scheming on how to gain the upper hand in the contest, opposition lawmakers-elect are equally strategizing on how to influence the outcome of the speakership contest or even have one of them emerge as the leader of the 10th House.
Last week, the lawmakers-elect, from the minority parties, which pride themselves as the “ Greater Majority”, met in Abuja to form a synergy ahead of the June 13 inauguration of the House.
The opposition lawmakers-elect, at the end of their parley, committed themselves to working together to protect the opposition and deepen democracy in the next assembly with emphasis on the need to leverage on their numerical strength to determine the leadership of the 10th House.
The convener of the meeting, Fred Agbedi, a ranking PDP member from Bayelsa, in his welcome address, said it is imperative for the opposition lawmakers-elect to close ranks in the interest of the country’s democracy and their respective political parties and constituents.
Agbedi said: “this session is to enable us network and familiarise; the results of the 2023 general election has thrown up a new face, having numbers that give us greater strength to deepen opposition politics and democracy. Therefore, we need to realize such and bond for the interest of our parties and the people we are here to represent.”
Members of the ruling party are conscious of the numerical strength of the opposition and are making efforts to harness it for their own benefits. Already, some of the contenders for the speakership seat have started reaching out directly to individual lawmakers-elect in the opposition parties.
Since 2011, when the then minority caucus, led by Gbajabimila, supported Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal and former Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha to emerge as speaker and deputy speakers respectively, against the decision of the PDP, opposition lawmakers have been wielding serious influence in the emergence of leadership of the House. PDP, which was then the ruling party, had settled for Mulikat Akande as its choice for the speakership position.
However, analysts say it is unlikely that the opposition lawmakers will vote enmass for any particular candidate. This is especially as most of them are known to have pitched their tents with different aspirants.
Nevertheless, pundits say with the large number of opposition lawmakers-elect, the minority parties will be critical in determining the next leadership of the House.