Speakership: Abbas, Kalu Meet Sanwo-Olu In Lagos

An aspirant for the speakership of the 10th National Assembly, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and a Deputy Speaker aspirant, Benjamin Kalu, on Saturday met with the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu at Lagos House Marina.

While the purpose of the visit is unclear, it may not be unconnected with next leadership of the 10th House of Representatives.

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Early this month, reports emerged that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has settled for Abbas and Kalu as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives.

It was gathered that Abbas who is from Kaduna State North-west, and Kalu who is from Southeast, were picked as the preferred candidates during a meeting held at the Defence House, the current official residence of the president-elect.

Also, Tinubu reportedly adopted Sen. Godswill Akpabio from Akwa-Ibom, South-south and Barau Jibrin from Kano State, North-west as Senate President and Deputy Senate President, respectively.

Meanwhile, the current Deputy Speaker of the green chamber, Idris Wase, is not backing out of his aspiration to become the next Speaker of the House.

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It was gathered over the weekend that he is dangling the position of the Deputy Speaker before the opposition parties in his bid to become speaker of the House of Representatives.

Wase, who’s the Deputy to Femi Gbajabiamila in the current House of Representatives, is allegedly conceding key leadership positions which include juicy committees to the opposition political parties, who are in the majority called ‘minority majority’ in the house.

The defiant Wase who sources said is not on speaking terms with Gbajabiamila following accusation that the speaker is responsible for the emergence of Tajudeen Abbas as Tinubu’s anointed candidate said Nigeria is built on supremacy of the law not the overarching power of a single person.

“At this point, I will use the words of my leader, emi lokan, emi lokan, emi lokan”, referring to Tinubu noting that, “It is only the North-central in the entire country that has not produced the Speaker in 24 years after the return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999.

“Fellow Nigerians, Nigeria is built on the supremacy of the law and the sacredness of the constitution for justice to reign and to keep the peace in the country,” he had said on Friday when he formerly declared for Speakership.

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While the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has 178 elected members for the 10th House of Representatives, the opposition parties have 182, one vote more than the statutory benchmark (181 votes) required to elect a Speaker.

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