10th Speakership: Minority Parties Look Up To Peter Obi , Others On Consensus Candidate

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, is expected to help break the impasse over which candidate minority parties in the House of Representatives will support for the position of Speaker.

The opposition has been fractured with some members-elect from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, supporting the majority party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, putting the group in crisis.

The minority caucus which has the highest number of members-elect hope to produce the Speaker of the House but the rift has put that quest in jeopardy.

The group has decided to hold a workshop in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where Obi has been invited to decide if the minority caucus should produce a candidate and which region and who should be picked as its candidate.

According to Representative Fredrick Agbedi (PDP-Bayelsa), the Convener of the ‘Greater Majority’, Obi alongside the acting Umar Ililya Damagum would be in Uyo to speak with the caucus.

Agbedi emphasised that, “If we (Greater Majority) must get it right or do the right thing, we need to be guided and we need to interact with our colleagues from various states.

“We are going to ensure that we talk to our governors, party leaders so that whatever we key into, it will be with the understanding that our stakeholders are with us.

“We will lead ourselves to arrive at a collective decision and in doing this, we have resolved to have state and zonal coordinators.”

“We have visited the PDP Acting National chairman, the Labour Party presidential candidate and the NNPP and they have all agreed to speak to us.

“And at the right time, decision will be reached and there will be an agreement as to which direction to go,” the Bayelsa politician said.

A member-elect on Tuesday told THE WHISTLER that it’s not only Obi that would decide the common decision regarding who emerges the consensus candidate from the opposition side “but he has the capacity to break” the impasse. “Because what we have now is a stalemate due to vested interest.

“Recall some people on our side in Rivers and Ebonyi decided to support the candidate of the APC (Honourable Tajudeen Abbas) to break our rank.

“We have also learnt of some members-elect from Kano State on the platform of the NNPP are dancing towards the APC.

“But I must confess that coming from the Southsouth, we are pained that some of our members decided to ditch us but it started from the presidential primary election of the PDP. So we know those that are aggrieved and worked against the party.

“Be that as it may, we still command the majority. Remember over 100 member-elect from the ruling party too under the platform of the G-6 have also joined us.

“So we would decide who emerges even if not on the platform of the PDP or Labour Party or NNPP,” he said.

An aide to one of the G-6 also revealed at the campaign office of the candidate on Tuesday that, “Yes, Obi commands a lot of respect, it’s true he can break the jinx. He would speak to the caucuses in Uyo and hopefully we would find a way out of it.

“You know, the G-6 is serious. Just like the G-5 governors of the PDP hurt the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, the G-6 would also hurt the chances of the APC.

“Our candidate being a member of the APC with huge support among the members-elect and the fact that they believe in the independence of the legislature, would ensure the anointed candidate of the APC would not emerge the speaker.

“The G-6 has over 150 members, who are loyal members. Together with the ‘Greater Majority’, they can decide who emerges the speaker no matter what.

“Let’s wait and see what the outcome of the workshop in Uyo would be,” he said.

The 10th Assembly would be inaugurated in June.