Speaker: Abbas, Betara split opposition camp

The coalition of minority members-elect has been split by competition for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions of the 10th House of Representatives.

It was discovered that a new coalition was supporting Tajudeen Abbas, who was endorsed by the All Progressives Congress, while Aliyu Betara, a Borno State representative, was being supported by the “10th Assembly Greater Majority,” a group of minority lawmakers-elect.

However, a significant portion of newly elected representatives are leaving the “10th Assembly – Greater Majority,” a coalition of the Peoples Democratic Party and other minor parties with elected representatives in the 10th House.

A parallel minorities’ coalition to be known as the Minority Parties’ Forum is set to be launched on Monday (today) by the irate opposition members, including those from Rivers State who are loyal to Governor Nyesom Wike.

The new development occurred as the opposition camp’s candidates for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions were set to be introduced by the 10th Assembly: Greater Majority this week.

The coalition had stated on May 2, 2023, that it would eventually nominate members from within its ranks for the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

The move was required, according to the coalition, because of the “discordant tunes coming from the stable of the ruling APC.” Given that the coalition has 183 members while the ruling party only has 177, the opposition members-elect declared their intention to enter the fray by presenting viable alternatives to the current leadership.

Therefore, an 11-person committee was formed by the Greater Majority in the 10th Assembly with the mandate to shortlist, screen, and ultimately recommend aspirants within a week.

Nicholas Mutu (PDP), Victor Ogene (LP), and Abdulmumini Jibrin (NNPP) are the committee’s chairman, secretary, and vice chairman, respectively. Others include Idris Salman, Beni Lar, Jonathan Gbefwi, Beni Lar, Ali Isa, Alhassan Rurum, Mathew Kuzalio, Salisu Majigiri, Nnabuife Chinwe, and Oluwole Oke.

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The 10th Assembly: Greater Majority has members who have expressed interest in running for leadership positions, according to Ogene, who spoke with our correspondent on Saturday. He had also suggested that the opposition members might adopt and consider one of the candidates running for the ruling APC.

Solomon Bob (PDP/Rivers), a member-elect, revealed that some members of the 10th Assembly: Greater Majority were leaving and launching a new group of opposition members on Monday in an interview with one of our correspondents on Sunday.

Bob claimed that Betara, the current chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, was going to be chosen by the 10th Assembly: Greater Majority as its candidate.

Ironically, Iduma Igariwey (PDP/Ebonyi), the deputy chair of the House Appropriations Committee, is rumored to be in charge of the coalition of factional minorities that will reportedly support APC-endorsed candidates. The pressure group’s secretary will be Alhassan Rurum, a member of the NNPP from Kano State.

“I belong to Joint Task – 10th Assembly; I don’t belong to the Greater Majority,” the lawmaker declared. Given our current course, they actually constitute a small minority. We’ll create a new alliance called the Minority Parties’ Forum. Tomorrow (Monday), we will launch. It is similar to that one so that we can inform everyone that there is only one Minority Parties’ Forum.

“They cannot arrive and attempt to monopolize the notion that minorities are united in their support for Betara and are pushing for it. By creating the false impression that all minorities support Betara, we have manipulated public perception. This is untrue.

When asked who was in charge of the new coalition, Bob responded, “Igariwey is the one coordinating (the coalition), and Alhassan Rurum is the secretary.”

Igariwey has not been with Betara from Day One, Bob said in response to a query about why he would oppose Betara’s bid for the speakership despite being the deputy chairman and chairman of the same committee, respectively. It’s one thing to serve as Betara’s deputy during an expiring term; it’s quite another to attempt to usher in a new one.

When confronted with the 10th Assembly’s assertion that the Greater Majority caucus had more members-elect than the APC, the Rivers lawmaker responded that the Minority Parties’ Forum would have more members of the opposition.

Where are they going to get the numbers, asked Bob. The 14 members are with us, as is everyone in Oyo State. Out of nine, Osun has just one, Wole Oke; the other eight are here with us. We have all 13 of our members here in Rivers. All 10 are with us in Akwa Ibom. So where do they get the numbers from?

Nevertheless, the PDP member acknowledged that the Minority Parties’ Forum would support the APC candidates. We’re supporting Tajudeen Abbas, who has the APC’s support, he declared.

Igariwey, who was contacted about the development, acknowledged it but clarified that it only involved moving the 10th Assembly: Greater Majority.

It is actually a different group in the minority caucus, he said. Our catchphrase isn’t Greater Minority. Even though we are attempting to reposition the group, it is still the same group. It still contains the same people who make up the same minority group.

When questioned about the leaders and members of the Greater Majority who have been attending meetings of the Joint Task – 10th Assembly, a coalition of members-elect of the APC and opposition parties that has adopted the zoning plan of the ruling party, Igariwey responded, “We are going to have our meeting tomorrow. You will be better informed about it thanks to something we release that resembles a communiqué.

On the subject of the number of opposition coalition candidates who had expressed interest in the speakership race as well as the emergence of another group, Ogene (LP/Anambra), who speaks for the 10th Assembly: Greater Majority, was contacted.

To our correspondent’s surprise, he directed her to the group’s coordinators, Messrs. Fred Agbedi (PDP/Bayelsa), Jonathan Gbefwi (SDP/Nasarawa), and Dachung Bagos (PDP/Plateau).

The calls made to Agbedi, Gbefwi, and Bagos were not answered, though.

In the meantime, the South-South Youth Alliance declared on Sunday that those who opposed the election of Godswill Akpabio as Senate President were against the “will of God” for Nigeria. This was in advance of the 10th Senate’s scheduled inauguration on June 13.

In a statement released in Abuja, the youth group referred to Akpabio as a “democrat” who is qualified for the top Senate position.

The coordinator of the group, Benjamin Nwizua, wrote the following in a statement: “Senator Akpabio was a performing governor of Akwa Ibom State who earned the title, uncommon governor. He then went to the Senate, where he was appointed Minority Leader and later Niger Delta Affairs Minister.

In addition, Abass has the support of a section of the ruling party operating under the Progressive Foundational Movement.

Additionally, the group pleaded with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, and the APC leadership not to give in to pressure and covert threats to strike Abbas from the list of approved candidates.

Aganaba Johnson, the PFM National Coordinator, made the appeal in a statement that was released in Abuja on Sunday.

The Northern Business Roundtable, a group, has urged senators elected on the platforms of the various parties to support Abdulaziz Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, in his bid to become Senate President.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Larai Kolo, the group’s spokesperson, claimed that Yari had the skills and moral fiber necessary to serve as Senate president.