Imo State deputy speaker says southeast does not have numbers to produce House of Reps speaker

INCOMING Nkwerre-Nwangele-Isu-Njaba Federal Constituency member of the House of Representatives Hon Ugonna Ozurigbo has declared that he will not support any of his kinsmen for the position of speaker but would rather back Hon Femi Gbajabiamila.

Hon Ozurigbo, 42, is currently the deputy speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly and in the last election was voted into the Federal House of Representatives. A close ally of Governor Rochas Okorocha and a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State, Hon Ozurigbo said he is backing Hon Gbajabiamila because he is the choice of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Following the recent National Assembly elections, one of the first things the new House of Representatives will do when it sits is to elect a new speaker.  Hon Gbajabiamila, 56, who represents the Surulere 1 constituency in Lagos State is one of the favourites to become speaker after receiving the backing of the APC leadership.

However, there are several other candidates vying for the position with him and lawmakers from other geo-political zones like the southeast and north central zones are opposed to Hon Gbajabiamila's candidacy because he is also from the southwest like vice president Professor Yemi Osinbajo. Art least two candidates from the southeast geo-political zone are also sunning but Hon Ozurigbo has declared that they will not be getting his support.

Speaking in Owerri earlier today, Hon Ozurigbo said his enjoyed the support of other APC, Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Action Alliance and Social Democratic Party lawmakers. He added that as a founding member of the APC, he could not be seen to be opposing the decision of the party and that of the president on the matter.

Hon Ozurigbo said he would not support his colleague from Imo Sate, Hon Chike Okafor, who had declared interest in the position of the speaker. He added that the southeast, with only two APC House of Representatives members, does not have the numerical strength to produce the speaker.

“The truth of the matter is that Femi Gbajabiamila will emerge the next speaker of the House of Representatives. The 162 members-elect of APC extraction have declared support for him, so Gbajabiamila only needs about 30 other members to have 181 votes which the House rule stipulates.

“I wish Chike Okafor good luck but we in the southeast are supporting Femi Gbajabiamila to become the next speaker of the House of Representatives. As his coordinator in the southeast, I am reaching out and we are upbeat that members from other political parties will support and vote for him.”