Reps Speakership: Gbajabiamila Is Having It Rough

The race is getting heated. What would have been a consensus in the build-up to the race for Speakership of the House of Reps hit the brick wall on Monday as there was no clear-cut agreement between the potential parties - Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Lagos) and Hon. Abdul-Mumini Jibrin (APC, Kano).

The latter, before stories about his decison to step down to run as deputy to the former, was one of the nine contenders for the numero uno position.

As this development unfolded, a group of legislators under the aegis of The Patriots, reiterated that it would back any of the candidates with the requisite experience to run the eighth assembly of the House.

But in a sudden volte face, perhaps informed by powerful lobby from interest groups in his North-West zone, who are of the view that the zone should be represented in the caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC), suggested that Jibrin should team up with Gbajabiamila.

The argument of the group is that although Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is from the North-West, he is now a representative of the entire country and by virtue of this the area should get a befitting presence in the caucus by getting one of the six topmost jobs in the country.

Emboldened by this thrust, Jibrin, THISDAY learnt on Monday, reached out to Gbajabiamila on Sunday asking him to be part of a media briefing at which he (Jibrin) would announce that he has stepped down from the race in support of the Lagos politician.

However, supporters of Gbajabiamila, THISDAY gathered, prevailed on him not to be part of the briefing as it would only lend credence to Jibrin’s likely future claims of having overwhelming support in the green chamber, which he made available to Gbajabiamila.

“It may also give Jibrin the confidence to make demands on Gbajabiamila in case the latter becomes the Speaker,” a source at the Sunday meeting said.

“To be candid with you, we from the North were the ones that advised Gbajabiamila to stay away from Jibrin’s press parley. We told him (Gbajabiamila) that we are in support of the proposed zoning formula, which gives the position of Deputy Speaker to the North-east and or North-West,” the source explained.

He also added: “Jibrin wants to use our support base to enhance his ambition; and we will not key into that.”

In all, Gbajabiamila is looking good for the position but it is still a tough journey ahead.