The Northeast Caucus in the House of Representatives at the weekend threw its weight behind the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila (All Progressives Congress (APC), Lagos) as the Speaker of the 8th House.
They also endorsed Mohammed Tahir Monguno from Borno State as their choice of candidate for the position of Deputy Speaker of the House.
Thirty-six of the 48 members from the Northeast Caucus after meeting in Abuja resolved to support Gbajabiamila as the Speaker with a proviso: if the party zones the speakership slot to the Southwest.
However, they said they would support Monguno for the Speakership position if it is zoned to the Northeast and that they will abide by the position of the party in whatever its choice is in the zoning of the speakership position.
The decision followed a meeting at the weekend in which members from five Northeastern states were present.
Goni Bukar Lawan (Yobe), who spoke with reporters on behalf of the Northeast Caucus, said their decision was based on the country’s political reality.
He said in advanced democracies, when the minority takes over government, the Minority Leader becomes the Majority Leader of the party.
“We cannot look for any leader, because even before we took over the government, he was our leader, and today we’re in the position. That’s why we decided to take our leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, to be our Speaker, and for Hon. Mungonu to be our Deputy Speaker by the grace of God.”
Speaking on why he jettisoned his ambition to become Speaker in the 8th House, Goni said as a grassroots politician, he had to listen to his governor, who is the party leader in his state.
“We have a project before Yobe State. Senator Ahmed Lawan is pursuing the position of Senate President of this country. In that respect, we cannot have one state produce two candidates; one looking for the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives and another Senate President.
“For us, that’s not in order. That’s why after the consultations and discussions, we arrived at supporting Gbajabiamila, when the party zones the speakership to the Southwest.”
He added that because of the ambition of both Senator Ahmed Lawan and Mongonu, “whatever position I am looking for, I should step it down. We are now one and all of us are working for the progress of the Northeast.”
Meanwhile, some members of the Northeast Caucus of the House of Representatives have denied that they endorsed Femi Gbajabiamila and Mohammed Monguno ticket for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House.
The contest for the Speakership has seen claims and counter- claims of endorsements as the 7th House winds down.
A statement by Binta Maigari and Nuhu Zaki said: “We wish to state here that the caucus has never sat to take a decision on who should be supported by the caucus.
“We call on those syndicating such stories to desist from misleading the public.
“The Northeast caucus has not taken a decision and people should stop propagating falsehood and lies.”