Reps’ Speakership: Disquiet As Dogara Meets With APC Lawmakers

By Ahmed Musa

Abuja – Indications have
emerged to the effect that a storm is brewing within the All
Progressives Congress (APC) caucus of the House of Representatives,
especially returning and newly elected members, Daily Independent
reports.

The reason, according to a highly placed source who
spoke to Daily Independent on Sunday, is that incumbent speaker, Yakubu
Dogara, who’s currently in the opposition is holding meetings with
aggrieved APC lawmakers.

The source, who asked not to be named
for personal reasons, also said the leadership of the APC is aware of
Dogara’s scheming and is monitoring its members and their activities
building up to the leadership elections in June.

While the source
did not mention how many APC lawmakers were holding meetings with
Dogara and who they are, he, however, stated that a major contender for
the seat of speaker from the North Central, Ahmed Idris Wase, was also
approached by the group for meetings with Dogara, but has serially
stayed away.

“I can tell you that they have tried severally to
get Wase to attend the meetings, but he kept dodging them. One of them
even said the speaker is considering him for the deputy speakership
position if he aligns with him, but Wase has refused to attend”, he
said.

Probed to name the members attending the meetings with
Dogara, the source said he could only say that “many APC members from
other zones are not happy with the party’s apparent favouritism towards
the South West”.

He said reactions and protest against the move
are reasons why many members are declaring their intentions to run for
the office.

Recall that on the day Femi Gbajabiamila, a top
contender in the speakership race and a possible anointed candidate of
the party, declared to run, another lawmaker from North Central,
Muhammed Umar Bago from Niger, also declared his intention to run.

Since Bago and Gbajabiamila’s declarations, another North Central lawmaker, John Dyegh from Benue has also joined the race.

Dyegh,
formerly touted to head the speakership campaign of Idris Wase,
declared during the week in a twist of event many have described as a
protest against the party’s arm twisting tactics, as well as the manner
Wase has kept the North Central caucus in the dark regarding recent
developments they got wind of.

It was said that Wase whom the
caucus was rooting for was being offered deputy speakership position to
run with Gbajabiamila, but didn’t deem it fit to inform the caucus and
keep them on the same page.

Asked if Dogara has hijacked the caucus, the source declined to comment.

He,
however, said, “All I can say is that many members are not happy with
what the party leadership is doing with the zoning arrangements, and
they’re realigning”.

Dogara is said to have the support of the
123 PDP members with promises of better deals for them if they could
also bring their friends on the APC side to his camp.

The speaker
is said to have waited with bated breath whilst working underground to
see cracks in APC walls and exploit same to his advantage, as it was in
2015.

He is said to be capitalising on certain alleged negative
records of Gbajabiamila and the fact that many members are resisting his
candidature as protest against any overbearing influence from the
outside when it comes to distributing committee portfolios.

Source:- Independentng