Two lawmakers in the race for the Speakership of the House of Representatives, Aliyu Betara and Yusuf Gagdi have stepped down for the preferred candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tajudeen Abbas.
They announced their withdrawal from the race after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, on Sunday.
The ruling party has nominated Abbas and Benjamin Kalu for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th National Assembly respectively.
Shortly after, The Joint Task – 10th Assembly, a coalition of members-elect of the 10th House of Representatives across party lines, issued a statement that partly read, “It has come to the attention of the Joint Task – 10th Assembly that some aspirants for the Speakership of the 10th House of Representatives claimed that the President/Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, never mentioned the name of Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas was his preferred candidate for Speaker, but that the President only said he aligned with the position of the All Progressives Congress National Working Committee on zoning arrangements.
“It is pertinent to mention that the so-called G-7 no longer exists as key members of the forum such as Rt. Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Rt. Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, Rt. Hon. Makki Yalleman and Rt. Hon. Raheem Tunji Olawuyi, among others, have since dropped their speakership ambitions and declared support for the Abbas/Kalu ticket. It is worthy to note that Betara and Gagdi announced that they stepped down for Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas today, Sunday, June 11, 2023, after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.”
