Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has met with members-elect for the 10th assembly amid opposition to the nomination of Tajudeen Abbas for the speakership position by the All Progressives Congress.
The meeting organised by the Joint Task, a coalition of eight political parties including the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by lawmakers loyal to Gbajabiamila and President-elect Bola Tinubu met with the reps-elect, including returning and new lawmakers, was held behind closed doors at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
Recall the APC picked Abbas and Benjamin Kalu for the position of speaker and deputy — a decision that has been rejected by some aspirants in the race.
Commenting on the development at the speakership declaration of Muktar Betara on Monday, Idris Wase, the deputy speaker who is also in the race, said they will reject any attempt to “hijack” the parliament.
His statement was re-echoed by other aspirants, majority leader, Alhassan Doguwa, chairperson of the committee on navy; Yusuf Gagdi chairperson of the committee on water resources, Sada Soli who attended Betara’s declaration hours after the APC announced its zoning formula for the national assembly principal offices.
Though details of the closed-door meeting have not been made public, a source claimed it was aimed at persuading the lawmakers to support the party’s choice.
