President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has emphasized the crucial role of the incoming 10th National Assembly leadership in the success of his administration, stressing the importance of starting off the new parliament on the right foot.
In light of this, the President has instructed that full support be given to the preferred candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the positions of presiding officers.
During a meeting at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday night, attended by Senators-elect and Members-elect of the APC, as well as the party’s governors and other leaders, Tinubu made the directive.
Details from the meeting revealed that Tinubu expressed a strong desire for the successful election of Senator Godswill Akpabio as Senate President, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas as the Speaker of the House, Senator Jubrin Barau as the Deputy Senate President, and Hon. Benjamin Kalu as the Deputy Speaker of the House.
A source familiar with the meeting, who requested anonymity, confirmed that the President “appealed/begged them to work for Akpabio, Abbas, Barau, and Kalu, respectively.”
The source added that the candidates were chosen for the stability of the nation, highlighting the President’s high regard for the incoming National Assembly leadership in ensuring the success of his administration.
Among the speakership aspirants present at the meeting were Hon. Muktar Betara Aliyu from Borno State, Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi from Plateau State, Hon. Miriam Onuoha from Imo State, and Hon. Sada Soli from Katsina State, who serve as the Chairpersons of various committees.
However, the immediate past Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Idris Wase from Plateau State, and another aspirant, Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji from Zamfara State, were absent.
It should be noted that during the valedictory session of the House on Wednesday, Wase expressed his intention to contest for the office, rejecting the idea of a consensus candidate.
He had said at the meeting “I want to appreciate my political leaders, among whom I would say is Solomon Lar, who, when I was contesting in 2007, I went to him and he prophesied the number of times I will come to this Assembly and I will tell this crowd and to the world, that he said, I will come to the Assembly in the number of times and prophesied even the number of leadership that I will attain and the Deputy Speakership and he prophesied next when I return, and I believe I will be Speaker and I believe I, In sha Allah, I will be the Speaker of the Green Chambers.”