10th NASS: G7 aspirants choose a consensus candidate to go off against Abass, Kalu of APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, and seven other candidates for the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 10th Assembly made a commitment on Friday to submit a consensus candidate.

On June 13, 2023, following the president’s announcement, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th Assembly will be elected.

While expressing their best wishes, the lawmakers agreed to back one of their own to run for the position while speaking at the formal declaration of the departing Deputy Speaker of the 9th Assembly, Hon. Idris Wase, in Abuja.

The Deputy Speaker and I have been working together since 2007, according to Muktar Betara Aliyu, the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations. We are all members of the APC, thus we are building a group, not fighting. However, we must sit down and declare that this is the person we have chosen to lead us. I can tell all of my colleagues, as well as future and former members, that there won’t be any fighting. We will decide to back one of us for Speaker.

Hon. Yusuf Gagdi also spoke, reiterating the group’s commitment to upholding the legislature’s independence and stating that “six of us aspirants are here to support the campaign of our Deputy Speaker.”

The House of Representatives is the house of the Nigerian people, thus the six of us are adamant about defending democracy, he continued. No members of the House leadership will be there when we barricade ourselves inside. God Almighty, may you discern our intentions and select the leader.

Idris Wase, the outgoing deputy speaker of the house, stated that he intended to run for speaker of the new 10th assembly in order to create a strong and really autonomous legislative.

In his 10-point platform, which he released as part of his official declaration to run for Speaker of the 10th Assembly, Hon. Wase included his commitment.

In addition, he pledged to put social welfare programs and plans ahead of security, financial restraint, economic growth, and security.

He declared: “In general, my actions would be driven by an avowed dedication to national unity to create a society where justice rules.

We must build on the achievements made thus far in accordance with national laws and support Nigeria’s international obligations that work to advance the wellbeing of all Nigerian citizens.

The Wase Federal Constituency of Plateau State is represented by Hon. Wase, who remembered that the Wase geopolitical zone, where he is from, had not produced the Speaker since the restoration of democracy in 1999.

Adding that it was his turn, he pleaded with the influential people to give the zone over to the police.

Additionally, it should be emphasized that, 24 years after Nigeria’s restoration to democracy in 1999, only the North Central region of the country has failed to produce a Speaker.

“Dear fellow Nigerians, Nigeria is established on the supremacy of the law and the sacredness of the Constitution to ensure that justice reigns and that the nation is kept peaceful.

With your full support and understanding of Nigerians, I hereby offer to run for and serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Tenth Assembly, in clear deference to the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, in order to advance the long-ago shared journey.

Wase pronounced, “At this point, I shall employ the words of my boss, emilokan emilokan, emilokan.

Other G7 representatives who addressed at the ceremony included the Honorable Princess Mariam Onouha (APC-Imo), the Honorable Sada Soli (Katsina State), and the Honorable Sani Jaji (APC-Zamfara).