[size=14pt]Reps set to get first female leader , Leadership bows to Presidency, PDP [/size]
From JAMES OJO, Abuja

Monday, July 18, 2011
With the deep pressure mounted on the leadership of the House of Representatives on the choice of who leads the House, indications emerged at the weekend that Mrs. Mulikat Akande-Adeola has been favoured for the position, even though she was not the preferred candidate of majority of members.





The choice of Akande-Adeola was foisted on the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal by the party leadership after his emergence against the directives of the party.

Sources close to the House leadership confirmed last night that the announcement of Akande-Adeola as the new House Leader would be made before the end of this week, as the speaker had succeeded in placating members who were initially opposed to her choice.

Her emergence, it was gathered, was to assuage the Presidency and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and to help President Goodluck Jonathan to achieve the promise of the 35 per cent affirmative action for women on political appointments.

The leadership of the House had last week announced all the members of its leadership except that of the Majority Leader because it was conscious of the seriousness attached to the appointment and the mood of majority members, both from the PDP and minority parties.

Adeola, it was equally learnt, had been in the good book of the wife of the president, Dame Patience Jonathan and some other women of political influence in the newly constituted Federal Executive Council, who resumed lobbying for a woman to lead the seventh House of Representatives.

“President Jonathan would be unjust to the Nigerian women if he fails to impress it upon the House leadership to make, at least, a woman a member of its leadership team. Remember, he promised during his campaigns that his government would involve women at all levels,” a member said.

Tambuwal had been able to win the support of his loyalists to honour the wishes of the party leadership and Presidency for the emergence of a woman as the House Leader.

Members who opposed the emergence of Akande-Adeola had argued that her emergence would slow down the march towards the independence of the legislature, which started with the election of Tambuwal as speaker.

“To some of us, we would prefer to have a House Leader that would emerge independent of external forces. But, as it is, Tambuwal is between the devil and the deep blue sea because he cannot afford to disobey the party and the Presidency again. We are conceding to him because we understand his precarious situation and we want him to settle down and do the business of repositioning the House. He will however have to placate Ajibola and I’m sure the caucus will look into that too.”

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/july/18/national-18-07-2011-004.html

Your change of the story title is wrong. It is about house leader not the speakership.

Anyways the thread already exists.


https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-715405.0.html