The soon-to-be inaugurated 9th session of the National
Assembly come June, 2019 may yet again see a new breed of leadership
likely to defy the usual hopeful among two contenders, Daily Independent
investigation can reveal.Although, the contest will still throw
up old foes in the persons of incumbent Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara and
Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, factors likely to militate against
them according to insider sources are stronger than they can appreciate
for now.On the part of the Speaker, whom despite finding himself
in what’s apparently a weaker minority of an opposition compared to
2015, is still eyeing the coveted seat counting on his supposed goodwill
among returning members and the hope of rallying the newcomers to his
side using financial inducements and promises of good committee
portfolios.Sources following the development told Friday
Independent that a huge budget for the project had been set aside by the
speaker even before the elections, saying that the incumbent is ready
to retain the seat irrespective of his party’s minority status.“The
speaker believes he has the right to contest as a member since the
constitution did not spell out that only the party with majority in the
House or Senate will produce presiding officers. It says, ‘members will
elect the speaker from amongst themselves’.“Again, the speaker
also thinks that he has done enough for many of the returning members
who are supposedly close to him to enable him get their support and
backing even if the majority party decides otherwise.“But while
he has the right to contest the speakership, he’s forgetting that APC
will never allow what happened in 2015 to repeat itself in 2019. In
fact, the president will not allow a known enemy of his policies to sit
on that chair again, democracy or no democracy”, the visibly confident
returning APC lawmaker said anonymously.He disclosed that “apart
from losing his ground by joining the PDP which is now in a more
weakened minority than it was in 2015, the speaker’s leadership style
and relationship with members are enough to disqualify him”.He
said members had suffered humiliating treatment in the hands of the
Speaker each time they sought to meet him at home, with many complaining
of being kept in the waiting room for hours, leaving without getting to
see the speaker.“If Dogara doesn’t call you or give you an
appointment to see him at home and you go there thinking you’re a
member, you’d be surprised how badly you’ll be treated. He won’t even
come down to see you nor ask you upstairs even after he’s informed of
your presence, so it was that bad”.According to another
returning member from the Southeast, one thing standing in Dogara’s way
in his attempt to curry favours from PDP members from the Southeast is
the role he played in the killing of the South East Development
Commission Bill in 2017 when he could have allowed it.The member
who’s coming back to the House for the third consecutive time said:
“having personally pushed for the North East Development Commission Bill
which almost all of us supported and passed, the speaker should have
known that one good turn deserves another. But when it got to the turn
of the South East, he stylishly killed it without any remorse, so we’re
waiting for him”.“Apart from being in the minority party now, I
can’t stick out my neck for anyone who will not support what my people
want when I needed him to. Anyone who does that can’t be my friend,
sentiment aside” the ranking PDP member from the East told Independent.On
the chances of Dogara’s challenger in 2015, Femi Gbajabiama to get
members backing for the post he has chased for so long, the retuning
member said there’s no love lost between Gbajabiamila and many of his
returning colleagues, including APC caucus.Asked if he would
support Gbajabiamila as his party’s choice having narrowly lost out in
2015, an APC retuning member from the North said Gbajabiamila did not do
enough as House leader who fights for the interest of his caucus
members to warrant much loyalty.He said: “When we go the
National Caucus meeting of the party before inauguration, which should
happen immediately after the governorship and state Assembly elections,
we will tell the leadership and the President our minds. And we’ll make
them see reasons why they should nominate someone else so that another
protest votes won’t occur in June”.“As an APC lawmaker, the
leader represents the face of the party and its members in the House. He
protects members and party’s interests as if they were his own, but
what we have is a far cry from what should have been, so how do we trust
him with a bigger responsibility after this?” he queried pleading
anonymity.He argued further, saying that “it mustn’t be Femi.
There are other committed and capable APC lawmakers who can do the job
of speaker to the glory of the party, the government and even members of
the House and Nigerians generally.“And if you look at the issue
of power sharing, the Southwest where Femi comes from already has the
Vice President. Let the Speaker come from a different zone such as the
Northeast, North Central or the Southeast and South-South, depending on
where the Senate President will come from anyway – for the purpose of
equity”, he urged.As at the last count, Independent
investigation reveals that ranking APC members from the North are
gearing up for the battle of wits as they return to Abuja on March 12 to
start campaigning.So far, names such as Babangida Ibrahim from
Katsina, Idris Wase from Plateau, Mohammed Umar Bago, from Niger, and
Muhammad Gudaji Kazaure from Jigawa have all voiced the interests to
run.Right now, likely contenders from the Northeast such as
Muhammad Tahir Monguno from Borno, Abdulrazak Namdas from Adamawa and
Bukar Lawal Goni from Yobe, are keeping their ambitions under rap
pending the party’s zoning arrangement that may throw the Senate
Presidency to the zone.From the Southwest, the only notable name
so far on the lips of even lawmakers is Femi Gbajabiama from Lagos, as
no other ranking member from the zone has openly indicated interest in
the race.On the side of the opposition Peoples Democratic party
(PDP), incumbent Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, from Bauchi, returning Minority
leader, Leo Okuweh Ogor from Delta, Kingsley Ogundu Chinda from Rivers,
returning Godwin Ndudi Elumelu from Delta, Toby Okechukwu from Enugu,
Chris Azuborgu from Anambra and possibly Victor Nwokolo from Delta are
said to be gearing up for the race, all things being equal.
Source:- Independentng
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