On Thursday, representatives chosen in the House of Representatives on the platforms of seven opposition parties declared they would run for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th National Assembly.
The legislators who were governed by a minority caucus with the motto “The Greater Majority” remarked that their motivation was sparked by their numerical superiority.
The choice was made at an urgent gathering of the minority caucus leadership on Thursday night at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
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Victor Adam Ogene, the caucus spokesman, stated in a statement that the results of the extra elections held last Saturday reveal that the minority caucus has increased to 182, which is one vote more than the statutory threshold needed to elect a Speaker.
Ogene added that there is a chance that the system will attract more members.
He said that the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is in power, shouldn’t mandate zoning for every member-elect.
The statement reads, “Besides the issue of ranking, every member is entitled to run for the office of Speaker, regardless of political party affiliation.
“The All Progressives Congress, APC, or indeed, any political party for that matter, reserves the right to regale itself with talks about micro-zoning leadership positions in the National Assembly. But the overriding question remains, are such fanciful engagements binding of the generality of Members-Elect? The answer today, tomorrow – and until our current constitution is altered to reflect that desire – is a big No.
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“Issues surrounding this all-important question is easily resolved, in the case of the House of Representatives, by Section 50(1)(b), to wit:” There shall be a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.
“While zoning is permitted, as an intra-party solution to the sharing of political offices, seeking to enforce such on the generality of members would be tantamount to affronting Section 50 of the Nigerian constitution.
“Besides, political parties must not always use the National Assembly as guinea pigs for their zoning fancies. Why didn’t these governors summon the same courage, which they currently seek to flaunt, during the presidential primaries, by micro-zoning the presidency to a particular zone? If it was okay to say that the presidential ticket should go to the South, then I think they ought to follow through with that same template and propose, for instance, that the Speakership should go to the North.”
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