Speakership aspirants storm APC secretariat to protest imposition of National Assembly leaders

SEVERAL members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) planning to stand for the position of House of Representatives speaker have stormed the party's secretariat in Abuja to protest the imposition of leaders on the National Assembly.

Over the last week, however, president-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has been involved in s series of meeting with members of both houses of the National Assembly, where it appears that the party has agreed on the leaders of the two chambers. From all indications, Hon Abbas Tajudeen from Kaduna State has been adopted as the speaker of the House of Representatives, with Hon Benjamin Kalu from Abia State named as the party's candidate for deputy speaker.

However, the decision to adopt these candidates have not gone down well with several contestants in the race, who described the development as an imposition of candidates on the party. These lawmakers, led by the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Idris Wase, held a crucial meeting with the APC's national working committee following their arrival at party headquarters.

Among those present at the meeting were Sani Jaji (Zamfara), Yusuf Gagdi (Plateau), Muktar Betara (Borno), Mariam Onuoha (Imo), Sada Soli (Kastina), Femi Bamishile (Ekiti), Abubakar Nakraba (Nasarawa) and Ahmed Jaha (Borno). While accusing the leadership of the ruling party of betraying the trust of the lawmakers through its sudden imposition of candidates, Hon Wase lamented that the APC leadership did not even deem it fit to consult with them before taking its decision.

Following this backlash, the APC leadership has been forced to play down its decision, saying the selections were not cast on stone. National publicity secretary Felix Morka, said that the nominations of former Niger Delta Affairs minister Godswill Akpabio, and Abbas Tajudeen for senate president and House speaker can still be changed as every party member is free to contest elective positions.

Confronting APC chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu on the matter, Hon Wase said: “As I speak to you, sir, I want to say categorically that none of us here was approached or consulted even for a second to seek our opinion on what was going to be done. While trying to convince ourselves it was one of social media reports, we saw the spokesman of our party on television confirming that there was actual negotiation or consultation that resulted in the list of consensus candidates produced.

It is unfortunate, your excellency, we feel betrayed by that action. We feel as if our contributions are not recognised and that we are not members of this family. We feel that we have given our best but now the best is no longer needed.”

Reacting to the lawmakers, Senator Adamu called for restraint and understanding, stressing that they are still consulting with stakeholders. He also argued that the party had previously warned many of the aspirants at a previous meeting to allow the president-elect, NWC members and other stakeholders take a decision before raising their hopes.