The G7 aspirants for the Speaker’s position of the 10th House of Representatives met with the “Greater Majority” and resolved to present consensus candidates for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions.
The groups met at a parley in Abuja on Saturday ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June.
The G7 members reiterated their commitment to work with the minority caucus to present a common front for the 10th National Assembly Speaker.
The G7 is made up of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Ahmed Wase; Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Rep. Aliyu Betara; Chairman, House Committee on Navy, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi; Sada Soli (APC-Katsina); Sani Jaji (APC-Zamfara); Miriam Onuoha (APC-Imo); and Alhassan Ado-Doguwa (Kano).
Soli, who spoke on behalf of the G7, commended the caucus, while assuring them of their unalloyed support with a promise to present a consensus candidate to the Greater Majority.
Responding on behalf of the Greater Majority, Rep. Fred Agbedi commended the G7 in seeing the Greater Majority as partners in progress for the progressive growth of the 10th House of Representatives.
Agbedi applauded the lawmakers for maintaining sacredness of the hallowed chamber, while assuring the G7 that the caucus had not endorsed any candidate.
Agbedi promised that the Greater Minority would work with all members-elect of the minority to ensure that the 10th House had a speaker for all.
The total number of minority in the House from the Peoples Democratic Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, African Democratic Congress, Young Peoples Party and Labour Party is 182, while the All Progressives Congress has 178 members-elect.
The focus of the Greater Majority is to preserve the independence of the legislature.
This move appears to be in a direct defiance of the zoning arrangement as announced by the National Working Committee of the APC.
The party organ zoned the Senate President to the South South, choosing Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Deputy Senate President to the North West, with Senator Barau Jibrin (Kano) as the anointed candidate; Speaker of the House of Representatives, (North-West), Abass Tajudeen (Kaduna); and Deputy Speaker, South East, Ben Kalu (Abia).