The number number of lawmakers opposed to the quest of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to impose the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, is growing by the day.
The APC said on Monday that it has approved Tajudeen Abass from Kaduna State to be Speaker follwoing the approval from President elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The decision of the party’s National Working Committee, NWC appears not to go down with majority of the members who have vowed to worked against the party when it’s time to elect the Speaker.
The National Assembly is expected to be inaugurated on June 6. Less than a month to the inuaguration of the 10th NASS, some aggrieved lawmakers said they were not consulted by the party before reaching the decision, they are planning to chose their own Speaker next month.
According to Bashir Zubair Usman, an APC member from Kaduna State, the decision of the party has polarised many members, who are not happy that they were not consulted before deciding to pick Abass as Speaker.
He said the APC leadership are trying to lord Abass on the House, adding that the party is behaving as if the country is operating a military dictatorship.
Criticising the APC zoning arrangement, the lawmaker who spoke on TVC programme on Tuesday, said it was wrong to zone the position to an individual, noting that what should have been done is to zone the position to a specific zone, while members from that zone are allowed to chose from the same place who will lead them.
According to him, “this is not zoning. This is appointment. It’s against the wishes of thr lawmakers. The party must look carefully in order to give the government of Tinubu a direction.
” We are not in support of that. We call on the NWC to withdraw the statement, and allow us to chose our leaders. We are not under military regime. This is democracy. We are going to elect our leaders in shape Allah.”
Usman said the APC should avoid a repetition of 2015 when Yakubu Dogara emerged the speaker against the wishes of the party, adding that the party does not have the number to impose the leadership in the House of Representatives.
He said his group already have the number to produce the next Speaker.
Figures released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC show that APC has 177 members-elect, while opposition parties have 188 members-elect.
Meanwhile, watchers of the House are in doubt whether the opposition will be united when it’s time to elect the new speaker for Nigeria’s lower house.
