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President Bola Tinubu has directed members-elect of the House of Representatives to choose the best among themselves to lead the 10th session of the lower chamber.
In a meeting with all the aspirants on Thursday night, the President reiterated his commitment to allow democracy to flourish in all arms of government.
A source who was part of the meeting held at the State House Conference Centre told our correspondent that although the President reiterated the need to rally around Senator Akpabio for senate presidency to balance the religious bias of the top three executives not being Muslims, he unequivocally made it clear that members-elect should choose a competent Speaker amongst themselves. “Mr. President is a Democrat. He wants the house to choose its leaders themselves. He is unhappy with some individuals dropping his name to impose a leader on the house.”
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Another source who does not want his name in print said lawmakers from the Northwest, where the position is zoned to, are unhappy with the desperation of a former Governor from the region, who is hell-bent on imposing one of his stooges on the house.
“The House is an institution with 360 members; members should be allowed to elect one of them. Most especially, Mr. President needs a strong party man capable of overseeing the House. Mr. President cannot afford to have a stooge of a power-drunk politician who is desperate to control the house for their interests,” the source alluded.
A faction of the NWC of the ruling APC has, in April, purportedly selected Hon. Tajudeen Abass from Kaduna State as the party’s choice for the Speakership of the House of Representatives, Lawmakers-elect had kicked against the selection, claiming they were not consulted before the decision was reached, and thereby forming a greater majority group of other candidates. Sources have hinted at Aminu Jaji, a loyal ally of President Tinubu, as the front-running candidate in this faction. He has resolutely stood on his mandate to compete for the Speaker House of Representatives office, not dropping out of the race by stepping down for anyone.