Opposition Seeks Position as Reps Speaker
Around “180 members-elect” from opposition parties have banded together to elect the next Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives before the 10th National Assembly is formally inaugurated in June.
The “minority caucus” promised in a statement following their meeting on May 2, 2023, in the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, to put an end to the eight years of “misrule” by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The parties include — the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Young People Party (YPP).
The communique was signed by the conveners including Fred Agbedi (PDP), Abdulmumin Jibrin (NNPP), Gaza Gbefwi (SDP), Dennis Agbo (LP), Idris Salman (ADC), Agbodike Pascal (APGA), Chinwe Nnabuife (YPP), amongst others.
The following decisions were reached by the caucus: “To Contest the office of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th House of Representative of the National Assembly
“That we have resolved to set up an eleven-man Committee to scout for a credible and acceptable candidate that would vie for those offices, and then actively seek the unification of Nigerians along ethnoreligious lines.
“The Greater Majority with more than 180 elected members (being over 50% of the elected member) will remain one indivisible coalition during the 10″ National Assembly, with the interest of the country as its driving force.
“That the greater Majority of the 10th National Assembly will be continually guided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with the collective interest of Nigerians being its major concern.
“To assure Nigerians not to lose hope due to the country’s current unpleasant situation, including the disunity plaguing the nation, which is the direct consequence of APC’s misrule and that the Greater majority of the incoming 10″ National assembly will remedy these problems as a matter of priority.
“The Great majority will continue to unify the coalition of opposition parties so that it can be an effective check on the ruling party to safeguard the rule of law.”
The APC won the most seats in the green chamber with almost 170 out of the 360, according to the results of the recently held elections. The NNPP had around 20, the PDP had about 100, and the LP had about 35 seats each.
Although the APC has not made public its choice about zoning for the 10th National Assembly leadership, many APC legislators have expressed interest in being the next Speaker of the House. In addition to others, they include Abdulraheem Olawuyi, Sani Jaji, Princess Onuoha, Yusuf Gagdi, Ahmed Wase, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, Aliyu Betara, and Tajudeen Abbas.
