Eleven lawmakers have declared interest to contest for the position of Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives.
House of Representatives
The current Speaker is not just some random Speaker finishing his tenure. He has the ears of the president-elect and is expected to be in his kitchen cabinet. Because several loyalists of Mr Gbajabiamila are at the forefront of the coalition, many see it as the hand of Esau but the voice of Jacob. Many believe that Mr Gbajabimaila set up the coalition to prevent the 2015 experience where he was the main victim of the open rebellion.
Aside from his long journey with the ACN, Mr Wase also has a long relationship with Mr Gbajabiamila. In 2018, Mr Wase was appointed the deputy majority leader following the death of Umar Jibrin from Kogi State. By 2019, the duo decided to run a joint ticket for the speakership and deputy. While experience is a positive factor, it has been a minus for him. None of the other 10 candidates in the race has ever presided over plenary or the Committee of the Whole. In the last four years, Mr Wase has definitely had a few altercations with lawmakers in the course of discharging his duty. In October 2020, he had a face-off with Shina Peller. He also clashed with Mark Gbillah, Dachung Bagos and Segun Odebunmi.
Mr Gagdi is one of the arrowheads of the Gbajabiamila/Wase successful campaign of 2019. Although many believe that he was rewarded with the Committee on Navy, by convention, former state assembly presiding officers get preference in the distribution of the positions. His relationship with Governor Simon Lalong may also play a crucial zone in the battle. He is believed to share a close relationship with his home state governor. Therefore, the latter may leverage his influence as the Director-General of the dissolved APC presidential campaign council to sway the pendulum in the direction of Gagdi.
Also, in 2011, Mr Gbajabimaila, as Minority Leader, led the Action Congress of Nigeria lawmakers to support Aminu Tambuwal to emerge as Speaker of the Seventh House. This was despite Mr Tambuwal and Vice President Namadi Sambo being from the same North-west. Thus, contemporary history has many facts to support Mr Betara’s bid.
Some weeks back, there was a report by a national daily that Mr Gbajabiamila had backed the Kaduna lawmaker. Despite the swift denial by the Speaker, the speculation has refused to die down.Sources within the National Assembly said that Mr Abbas has been instructed to maintain a low profile while his supporters make the case for zoning of the ticket to the North-west as he is considered the favourite candidate.
To many lawmakers, Mr Abbas has two main combinations, soft temperament and competence, with the addition of being from the North-west. There is also the influence of Nasir el-Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna State. Of course, there is the option of deputy speaker – an office that may become available to the South-east if the speakership goes to the North and the South-south takes the Senate presidency. This scenario is becoming probable judging by the reality of things in the past few weeks. Deputy Speaker may be an option for her.
Although he survived the NNPP tsunami in Kano, he has lost the numerical strength of the state’s caucus as NNPP now has 19 out of the 24 lawmakers from the state in the House. But will the NNPP back Mr Doguwa? That is a major poser.
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