LEADERS of the All Progressives Congress (APC) appeared to have averted what looks like a lingering crisis over the zoning of the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives in the eighth National Assembly.
Sources close to the party told the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday that after some prolonged meetings between Saturday and Sunday afternoon, the leaders were able to strike a deal, which would guarantee the position of Speaker of the next House of Representatives ceded to the South West, while the position of Deputy Speaker would go to the North West.
Sources confirmed that the president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari; national leader of APC, Senator Bola Tinubu and the Kaduna State governor-elect, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, were instrumental to the last gap effort to save the party from the brink.
It was gathered that the ambition of some candidates from the North for the position of Speaker had, in the last two weeks, put the leaders of the party under pressure, with leaders of the South-West suspecting that the North was sabotaging their efforts to produce Speaker.
Honourable Abdumumin Jubril from Kano and Honourable Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi had been mounting campaigns among the incoming members of the House for the position of Speaker in recent weeks.
The situation apparently forced the South West to back out of its support for the North Central  to produce the Senate President.
Some lawmakers from the zone had, at the weekend, announced the support for North East to produce the Senate President.
Sources in the party told the Nigerian Tribune that some lawmakers from the South West and North West would be announcing a deal in Abuja, today.
It was gathered that worried by the possibility of a Tambuwal scenario of 2011 repeating itself, party leaders including Buhari, Tinubu and el-Rufai, decided to intervene by calling a number of notable lawmakers to get the deal struck out at the weekend.
“There were meetings and contacts made at the higher level of the party and the deal eventually was reached that the North West would back the candidate of the South West for the speakership position.
“This would ensure that we avoid the Tambuwal scenario on the floor as the two zones account for almost half of the population of the House.

Before the deal was struck, the South West zone was actually walking a tight rope, as two front runners had emerged from the North West and North East.
The South West zone  had been banking on deploying its senators to support the North East for the post of Senate President in the eighth National Assembly, with the hope of producing the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Initially, leaders from the zone were said to be backing Senator George Akume, the incumbent Senate Minority Leader (from Benue, North Central) for the post, but a strong challenge from Senator Bukola Saraki, also from the North Central, changed the equation.

Some of the leaders were said to have argued that the emergence of Saraki as Senate President could nullify South West’s bid for the headship of the green chamber, as some lawmakers might argue that the two chambers of the Assembly should not be headed by Yoruba.

Such realities was said to be behind recent posturing among legislators from the South-West, indicating that they might back Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe (North East) as Senate president.

That notwithstanding, sources told the Nigerian Tribune that the coast still appeared cloudy for the possibility of the South West producing the next Speaker.
It was gathered that some leaders of the zone had kickstarted a lobby of incumbent Speaker, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, to help rally the North West to back the quest for South-West speakership.
It was gathered that the quest by some candidates from the North West and North East for the position had  continued unabated, notwithstanding the indication towards zoning.

The argument that the positions in the National Assembly should be contested by the most popular candidates in the chambers appeared to also endanger the quest by the South-West, as some sources maintained that lawmakers from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were rooting to negate a South-West speaker on the floor.

Sources in the PDP confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune that members of the party were aggrieved that the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) used its numbers from the South West to truncate the zoning arrangement of the party in 2011 and that it was payback time.
“The fact that the South West is not presenting a variety of candidates could also be its undoing,” a source said, adding that so far, the zone was known to be projecting only one candidate.
“Remember that the lawmakers from the South West truncated the PDP zoning arrangement in 2011 and gave their votes to Tambuwal as against Honourable Mulikat  Adeola-Akande, the choice of the PDP. This is surely payback time,” a source close to the PDP said.

Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila from Lagos (South West) was being tipped from the South-West to emerge speaker, as he was also believed to be the anointed candidate of APC leaders in the zone.

The deal that would be announced today was said to be capable of dousing the tension and resolving possible crisis in the House of Representatives.

http://tribuneonlineng.com/News/Top Stories

Wetin concern me. FTC in d 2nd time in a week with this my God-given java phone. Hulala

Mogidi another Bad news for you as your enemy "don Hammer again"

Mtchewwwwwww wetin concern me, Gej is the man of the year that's all

okiezman:
Mtchewwwwwww wetin concern me, Gej is the man of the year that's all

Gej is irrelevant in this issue or are you pained that you couldn't find his name in the article?

The enemies of south west in the south we know them,

But no worries,


Just as I told them GOD is with the south west, the speaker is coming to the south west.

I will remind the haters of this thread in some weeks time

Tinubu's wife, son in-law, daughter etc are all enjoying the largess which they sold to ordinary Nigerians as "Change"

If this is true, we might as well give the keys to the Central Bank to Tinubu.

He he he, the haters will have many days to lament Tinubu is the master strategist

aderonila18:
He he he, the haters will have many days to lament Tinubu is the master strategist

He's a strategist to the core, I can predict Vanguard newspaper's headline a year from now: "Tinubu buys Central Bank of Nigeria".

Enjoy the "change" folks.

ionsman:

Gej is irrelevant in this issue or are you pained that you couldn't find his name in the article?

He will never be forgotten in anything cos he's the man of the year

okiezman:


He will never be forgotten in anything cos he's the man of the year

Yes he is. Otuoke's man of the year,not Nigeria's man of the year.

Lol....smh for the gullible ones.

ionsman:

Yes he is. Otuoke's man of the year,not Nigeria's man of the year.

Hater alert!!!! How much you paid for hating huh?

they go elect speaker before May29! aboki go shock some people!

okiezman:



Hater alert!!!! How much you paid for hating huh?

In Nigeria, when you say the truth, you are termed a hater...

ionsman:

In Nigeria, when you say the truth, you are termed a hater...

I see no truth in your words other than hate

I just love the person of Femi Gbajabiamila. He is an outspoken honourable.

Good for him. He is okay for the job.

okiezman:


I see no truth in your words other than hate

Okay If you say so.

okiezman:


He will never be forgotten in anything cos he's the man of the year

just watch after may 29 how he would become the new shagari and shonekan, the guy doesnt have the charisma in the first place. Its takes baba obj his antics to continue been in media touch, howmuch more gej the dullard. To the topic i think it was expected and remains the best choice. Gbajamila is refined. I think the yorubas shld now exercise patient other zones need post too. Senate should go to akume, and deputy ne.

Nigeria first before any other thing

Mogidi:
Tinubu's wife, son in-law, daughter etc are all enjoying the largess which they sold to ordinary Nigerians as "Change"

If this is true, we might as well give the keys to the Central Bank to Tinubu.

This is just sad, even for a typical low life

Yeah we're enjoying it, just like you enjoyed the transformation. Comprendre?

Mogidi:
Enjoy the "change" folks.

Sk

If Northerners occupy the Presidency, Senate President, and HoR Speaker, that's the end of my support for Buhari.

The man needs to understand that he was a nobody and unelectable in the South until ACN merged with his party and repackaged his tainted past.

For him to now hands up and say he doesn't want to get involved in the leadership situation in the 2 houses would amount to political naivety, and a northern tribalistic folly that will ensure he only spends one term.

Buhari has the authority and influence to call his people to order. He must do so and stop pretending.

We cannot have northerners occupying all these positions. Not acceptable under any guise.

By the power conferred on me,I zone Senate governor to the SE & zone Listener ( opposite of speaker) to SS.Problem solved.

It was the SW that masterminded and drove the momentum that then caught fire accross most parts of the country.


Infact, when you look at the margin of victory between him and the rest in the APC presidential primaries, it is clear that Mr Buhari could have lost to Kwankwaso if Tinubu had not shored up support for him from SW delegates.


Has he forgotten so soon?

I'm so furious with these Northern political jobbers who are now telling the world the SW's contribution was only '500,000' votes. What a joke.


With the north occupying all these posts, the SS's fight for increased derivation will be dead in the water.


With Gbajabiamila, there is some hope that SS issues will receive a hearing. Northerners will not even allow it to come up for discussion.

This same Gbaja wetin that took his client's money in d USand ran to Nigeria?
APC=Change.

edogirl2:

If Northerners occupy the Presidency, Senate President, and HoR Speaker, that's the end of my support for Buhari.

The man needs to understand that he was a nobody and unelectable in the South until ACN merged with his party and repackaged his tainted past.

For him to now hands up and say he doesn't want to get involved in the leadership situation in the 2 houses would amount to political naivety, and a northern tribalistic folly that will ensure he only spends one term.

Buhari has the authority and influence to call his people to order. He must do so and stop pretending.

We cannot have northerners occupying all these positions. Not acceptable under any guise.

am withh you on this one,though my support for Buhari still stands. I think people like Tinubu,El-rufai and co should not determine who becomes the speaker.

I just hate external influence.