Speakership: G7 Lawmakers-Elect Intensify Strategy to Upstage Tinubu’s Anointed

Speakership: G7 Lawmakers-Elect Intensify Strategy to Upstage Tinubu’s Anointed

  • The House of Representatives is currently at a crossroads on who becomes the next leader of the 10th National Assembly
  • Lawmakers and lawmakers-elect are not in accord with whom they want to become the Speaker of the lower chamber
  • The president-elect and the APC have chosen their candidate, but aggrieved lawmakers have rejected that choice

FCT, Abuja - A coalition of lawmakers-elect known as the G-7 has said speculations from the camp of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) show they have lost touch in their pursuit for the speakership seat of the House of Representatives.

Reacting to the rumours over the weekend, the spokesperson of the coalition, Hon Philip Agbese, disclosed that the G-7 is waxing stronger and already has strategies in place to upstage Hon Abbas Tajudeen, the anointed candidate of the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the national working committee of the APC.

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Abbas Tajudeen
The coalition of lawmakers-elect from PDP, NNPP, ADC, YPP and LP has 182 members, while the APC has 178. Photo Credit: Hon Muktar Betara and Abbas Tajudeen
Source: Facebook

Recall that Legit.ng earlier reported that the G7 faction of the House of Representatives constitutes lawmakers elected from the minority party and some factional members-elect of the APC.

Agbese revealed that the rumours making the rounds indicate that Abbas and his cohorts have resorted to peddling mischievous information to stay relevant in the public domain.

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He said:

"In their latest outing, they admitted that the members of the G-7 are qualified to be Speaker, yet Abbas is being packaged as the best, a man with questionable character and not widely accepted among his colleagues.
"As we all know, the election of principal officers is the exclusive right of the parliamentarians. If indeed Abbas is well-loved and accepted, he should test his popularity against the G-7 and stop the propaganda."

The G-7 spokesman further disclosed that their camp is blessed with high-profile lawmakers who are more qualified and sellable to fellow lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

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Speakership: APC faction to present consensus candidate as plot to upstage Tinubu's anointed begins

He described the current Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase, who is also a member of the G7 as a credible and worthy candidate of note that can be rooted for.

Agbese described Wase as the "most honest parliamentarian" on the radar of the G7 lawmakers.

Similarly, Agbese referred to Hon Muktar Betara, another member of the G7 he described as a unifying force.

Other notable members include Yusuf Gagdi, Hon Sani Jaji, Hon Sada Soli and the solitary diva in their caucus, Hon Miriam Onuoha.

10th NASS: APC is not in crisis - G7 spokesman

However, Agbese cleared the air on the notion that the APC is in crisis and is against the plans of the president-elect.

He said:

"We love, respect, and believe in the President-elect. Unlike what is being portrayed, the All Progressives Congress is not in any crisis.
"However, we believe our incoming president and party leaders will take the best possible decision for the nation after listening to all parties involved."

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Speakership: APC faction to present consensus candidate as plot to upstage Tinubu’s anointed begins

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives speakership race is on course to go down the wire ahead of its inauguration on Monday, June 5.

The lower chamber is the only legislative block yet to resolve who becomes their leader.

The minority lawmakers and the factional block of the APC have joined forces to upstage the president-elect's candidate.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Segun Adeyemi avatar

Segun Adeyemi (Current Affairs and Politics Editor) Segun Adeyemi is a journalist with over 9 years of experience as an active field reporter, editor, and editorial manager. He has had stints with Daily Trust newspaper, Daily Nigerian, and News Digest. He currently works as an editor for Legit.ng's current affairs and politics desk. He holds a degree in Mass Communication (Adekunle Ajasin University). He is a certified digital reporter by Reuters, AFP and the co-convener of the annual campus journalism awards. Email: segun.adeyemi@corp.legit.ng.