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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The opposition members-elect in the House of Representatives have stepped up their plan to upstage the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) by fielding candidates for the position of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
The opposition members-elect, under the aegis of Greater Majority, rose from a crucial meeting on Tuesday evening at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, with a resolution to field candidates for the position of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th National Assembly.
The membership of the caucus is drawn from the main opposition parties– Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Young Peoples Party (YPP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Labour Party (LP).
Opposition parties have the majority in the Green Chamber with 180 representatives, while the ruling APC has 178. Two seats– one in Akwa Ibom and another in Ondo State are still outstanding.
As part of the strategy to upstage the APC, the caucus resolved to set up an 11-man committee “to scout for credible and acceptable candidates that would vie for those offices, and then actively seek the unification of Nigerians along ethno-religious lines.”
“The Greater Majority with more than 180 elected members (being over 50% of the elected members) will remain one, indivisible coalition during the 10th National Assembly, with the interest of the country as its driving force,” the opposition stated in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Speaking further on Thursday, the Secretary of the Greater Majority, Efosa Imasuen, said: “We are more than prepared. As we said in our communiqué, we have more numbers than the APC. We even have some members of the APC who are ready to align with us.
“Yes, we have people from the APC that are ready to align with us because of our style of leadership, our style of governance, our approach to people, and the country. People are in tune with what we are doing.
“That gives us the impetus to think and know that if we vie for this office, we can get it and give Nigerians what they truly want – a sincere government.”
On if they can remain united when the APC tries to divide the opposition, the lawmaker said they are ready for the ruling party’s machinations.
On the anticipated zoning by the ruling party, Imasuen said: “We don’t have business with APC’s zoning. We get to understand certain things and how they are not sincere with a lot of things that they say and do. We remember when they said they zoned their presidential ticket to the South but had people like Ahmad Lawan running, and he was even declared the candidate of the APC at a point.
“So, at this juncture, we can’t even take them seriously when they say they are going to zone, it is a fallacy. They keep on deceiving people with that zoning thing.
“So, if you want to zone, be fair. If the APC is talking about zoning, their track record about zoning has not been realistic and is not something that somebody will hold onto,” Imasuen added.
Plot will fall like a pack of cards – Reps Chief Whip
Reacting,Tthe Chief Whip, House of Representatives, Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC Borno), said what the opposition is planning is a fruitless effort that will fall like a pack of cards.
According to him, despite the number of seats held by the opposition, they will never come out with a single voice and cannot produce the Speaker or Deputy Speaker in the 10th National Assembly.
“Even if they field candidates, it will be fruitless because the APC members are united and will work together to produce the Speaker, the Deputy and the other positions.
“Whatever is happening now is the usual political moves to rally around the various candidates before things are finalised. I am telling you, we’ll come out with one voice as the ruling party before the elections.
“We’ll bring out our candidates before the elections as we did during Femi Gbajabiamila’s election.
“We’ll bring out the candidates and we’ll unite because we are still the majority. So, even if they field their candidates, they are not going to win. By law, they are allowed to field candidates.
“The only exception is that a first-time member cannot contest. It is only a ranking member that can contest,” he said.