10th House Speakership: Crack in G-7 as Doguwa, two other aspirants back Abbas

…says as beneficiary of zoning, It’s time to reciprocate

By Tom Okpe

It’s expected that a crack is expedient amongst aggrieved Speakership aspirants in the 10th House of Representatives otherwise, known as the Group of Seven (G-7) following withdrawal from the race by Majority Leader of the 9th House, Rep Alhassan Ado Doguwa.

The Majority Leader announced his withdrawal from the race in support of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) ordained candidate, Rep Tajudeen Abbas, alongside two other aggrieved aspirants, Rep Abdulraheem Tunji Olaoye, from Kwara State and Rep Makki Abubakar Yalleman, Jigawa State.

This was at the second meeting of the Tajudeen Abbas/Benjamin Kalu campaign group, organized by the ‘Joint Task’ -10th Assembly, a coalition of all 8 political parties with seats in the incoming House of Representatives when inaugurated.

While addressing the gathering, chaired by the outgoing Speaker of the House, Rep Femi Gbajabiamila, Doguwa said time has come for him to act to a good party and established man who also benefited from the system.

He said: “My respected colleagues and brother the Prince of Zazzau, Rep Tajudeen Abbas; this year will be highly eventful for the Zazzau Emirate.

“Don’t imagine that my appearance here is by accident. Don’t think you are day dreaming, you are not day dreaming this is reality. Before you is Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the Chief Whip of the 8th Assembly and by the leave of my colleagues and the chief leave of the art.

“I am here to put on record that not just from today, that right from day, the National Working Committee, (NWC) of my patty, the APC, put it on the table that they have come up with zoning arrangement, and after zoning with all sense of morality, micro-zoned to the North West, and to my brother, Tajudeen Abbas, representing Zaria Federal Constituency of North West Nigeria, I called my bid to contest for the speakership of the 10th House of Representatives off.

“I had to do that because I’m a man of the establishment. I had to do that because I’m also a beneficiary of the same kind of arrangement.

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“I have benefited from party arrangements, I have personally benefited from this zoning arrangement. That was what gave me the position of the Chief Whip of the 8th House of Representatives even when there were issues, the zoning helped me.

“Today I am the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, courtesy of the National Working Committee of my party. My great brothers and sisters, courtesy demands that it’s only fair that I also, stand by the position of the NWC of my party.

“It’s not like the table is turning against me. It’s just that time has come for me to also pay back, and I think, paying back in this circumstances is a great responsibility that I must oblige.

“I rise before you this evening my colleagues and Rep Gbajabiamila, standing by me are Rep Abdulraheem Tunji Olaoye and Rep Makki Abubakar Yalleman. We are here individually and collectively stepping into the shoes of this great campaign.

“We all wanted to be Speakers not because we knew there could be so many Speakers at every given point in time, there can be only one Speaker and we have individually and collectively decided to come and surrender our bids to be Speaker to our great party, and we also defer on record to our great gentleman that was picked by the party to run for the Speakership, officially on behalf of our great party, Rep Tajudeen Abbas.

“We are also of the opinion that the selection process of the Art, Abbas, was not in any way bias. We are also quite aware that the person of Tajudeen Abbas and his running mate, are qualified to hold their respective offices.”

Recall that the G7 group, comprising the outgoing Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Idris Wase, (Plateau), Muktar Aliyu Betara, (Borno), Aliyu Sani Jaji, (Zamfara), Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, (Plateau), Miriam Onuoha, (Imo), Alhassan Ado Doguwa, (Kano); Sada Soli Jibia, (Katsina) and Makki Abubakar Yalleman, (Jigawa) with the exception of Olaoye all swore to back one aspirant amongst them to run as Speaker of the House.