10th Assembly: APC group supports Betara

A support group for the All Progressives Congress urged the electors of the House of Representatives and Nigerians on Saturday to reject attempts by the APC to impose a leadership with about 72 hours until the start of the 10th National Assembly. The group was operating under the banner of the Progressive Support Group.

According to the group, the advice was necessary to prevent the nation’s democracy from being undermined and the parliament from fulfilling its constitutionally mandated duties to the electorate.

Nigeria is bigger than any political group or individual, said the group’s spokeswoman, Silas Audu Wettok, in a statement, urging the lawmakers to put Nigeria’s interests first.

The APC had listed Tajudeen Abass, chairman of the House Committee on Land Transportation, and Benjamin Kalu, chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, as its top choices for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th House, respectively.

Their decision has, however, been met with criticism, with many stakeholders describing it as an attempt by outside forces to seize control of the House during the subsequent political era.

Wettok therefore urged members-elect to support Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara, a representative of Borno state’s Biu/Bayo/Shani Federal Constituency, in his bid to become Speaker of the 10th National Assembly.

He claimed that while most Nigerians wanted complete transparency, accountability, and fairness among the three tiers of government, some egotistical people were planning to game the system for their own benefit.

The majority of Nigerians are with us and will continue to support this course, he assured them, adding that they were prepared to defend their rights as stated in the quote “The government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Some of us will never permit this in our lifetimes, he added.

“The 9th Assembly has just completed its tasks, and everyone is anxiously awaiting the inauguration of the 10th Assembly, which will be carried out by the President and Commander in Chief in the coming days. We formally state here today our commitment to your records and, as applicable, contributions.

“For the country to truly improve in delivery and lasting impact in the new legislative governance in this dispensation, the Progressive Support Group wants to draw the attention of all well-meaning Nigerians to resist any form of imposition of candidate at the upper or lower House of these two Hallowed Chambers.

“This is to prevent the truncation of democratic ideals and the pocketing of the legislature from fulfilling its statutory obligations to the electorate.

“As a political support group and progressive Nigerians, we believe that the House should be led this time around by a charismatic, courageous, and more importantly, someone with experience and the ability to lead appropriately. Because Nigeria should always come before the interests of any political party or individual because Nigeria is a much larger entity.

In search of a qualified candidate to head the lower chamber of the National Assembly, which is more accessible to the general public than the upper House, the Progressive Support Group launched a massive consultation across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT immediately following the general elections in March.

“Our research team and consultants have come up with a name for someone who is impartial, modest, and prepared to move forward with the Nigeria project.

“He is the best-performing member in delivering on constituency projects and other legislative actions, including the sponsoring of community-compatible bills in recent times, and has demonstrated leadership qualities over the years at the National Assembly to date,” reads a statement from the National Assembly.