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| Mr. Yakubu Dogara |
One of the key contenders for the
speakership of the 8th House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, gave
indications on Thursday that he might not toe the zoning arrangement of
the All Progressives Congress if it would not guarantee “fairness and
justice.”
Dogara, who is from Bauchi State
(North-East) is considered the main challenger to House Minority Leader,
Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos State), in the race for the position.
For weeks, Gbajabiamila has been touted
as the likely candidate for the speakership under an understanding
allegedly reached within the APC’s circles to zone the seat to the
South-West.
The party also reportedly agreed behind
the scenes to allow the North-East, where Dogara hails from, to produce
the Senate President.
But, on Thursday, Dogara came out
clearly to say that the Senate and the House were two different chambers
and that a decision taken in respect of one could not be imposed on the
other.
The APC lawmaker spoke just as a new group, nicknamed The Patriots,
emerged to demand that the candidate for the speakership must pass an
“integrity test” as against an individual emerging on the basis of party
zoning arrangement.
Dogara described the North-East as the
poorest geo-political zone in the country that required the backing of
other zones in the sharing of political offices.
He also stated that the reported prospect of the zone producing the senate president did not in any way affect his aspiration.
He addressed a news conference where he said, “We represent the aspirations of a zone that is the poorest in the country.
“There are candidates from other zones
that already hold leadership positions in the APC, yet they are running
for the position of Speaker. Why are questions not being asked in their
own case?”
Dogara admitted that the APC must be
passing through a difficult period in taking a position on the issue,
but he advised the party to be guided aright so as not to hurt the
feelings of members.
At least 22 members, including Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers, backed Dogara on Thursday as he spoke.
Among them were Chairman, House
Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed (Kwara APC);
Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Mrs. Nkiruka Onyejeocha (Abia
PDP); Adams Jagaba (Kaduna APC); Mr. Emmanuel Ekon (Akwa Ibom PDP);
Binta Maigeri (Gombe PDP); Mr. Ezikiel Adaji (Benue PDP); Mr. Abubakar
Kannike (Kwara APC); Mr. Linus Okorie (Ebonyi PDP); and Mr. Herman Hembe
(Benue APC.
Dogara, a lawyer and third-timer, said
his reason for joining the race was because “Change”, the APC’s slogan,
to him, meant “simply to work.”
On its part, The Patriots, at
its inaugural news briefing on Thursday, described itself as a “bi
partisan legislative interest group” that was out to ensure that the
candidate for the office was the very best among lawmakers.
The group also clarified that it was not
out to support imposition of candidates by forces outside the National
Assembly, but would vote based on the belief that the speaker passed an
integrity test.
The convener of the group, Mr. Musa
Serkin-Ada, said, “Our group deliberately focuses on both the election
processes and quality of candidates, as opposed to business-as-usual
groups that crowd around individual candidates wishing to contest for
speakership and other positions.
“We are more interested in setting the
parameters – principles, vision, mission, quality and commitment – of
those who aspire to lead us, as opposed to supporting individuals in
return for sharing the spoils of office.”
According to the group, one way of
conducting the integrity test was to organise an elaborate debate for
the contestants to tell members why they qualified to be speaker.
However, a member from Lagos State and
Senator-elect, Mr. Solomon Olamilekan, claimed that Gbajabiamila already
had close to “85 per cent support” of members for the speakership.
Olamilekan also claimed that “over 200
members” attended a meeting with Gbajabiamila on Wednesday where they
gave him their full backing.
The Patriots claimed that it had members from APC, PDP, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Labour Party and Accord in its folds.
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