As the race for the Speakership of the House of Representatives in the Ninth Assembly hots up, the North Central Zone is insisting of taking the stot despite the endorsement of the South-West zone for it by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
The three aspirants from the North Central zones are Hon Mohammed Bago, Niger State, Idris Ahmed Wade, Plateau State and John Dyegh-Benue State.
The leadership of the APC at dinner held at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja endorsed Hon Femi Gbajabiamila from Lagos, South West Zone for the position.
Barely few hours after the endorsement, the North- Central caucus of the party in the House of Representatives kicked against the party’s position and vowed that the zone would not take anything less and directed members interested in the office not to back down in the race
Tribune Online learnt that in compliance with this directive, one of the contenders to the office, Hon Bago moved to the palace of the Ooni of Ife,  Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, West zone at the weekend to seek for Royal support for his aspirations
In a statement made available to newsmen by the spokesman of the Bago for Speaker Organization, Hon Victor Adam Ogene, in Abuja yesterday,  Bago stated that besides the fact that the Nupes, his ethnic background from Niger State have historical links with the Yoruba, he decided to identify with the Ooni because of his stance as an advocate of youth inclusion in governance.
Bago, according to the statement, thanked Oba Ogunwusi for the warm reception and royal blessings accorded him, promising not to betray the confidence in him
The Ooni of Ife, HRM Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja 11 in response reportedly canvassed for youth inclusiveness in the leadership structures of the country.
 Oba Ogunwusi said that for there not to be a lacuna in leadership, the youth must be encouraged to assume leadership.
According to him, “yes, we now have a Not Too Young to Run law, but to compliment that we need to consciously bring the youth into leadership positions.
He praised Bago for embarking on the courtesy visit, describing it as “a demonstration of your profound respect for the Yoruba race”.
Oba Ogunwusi also prayed for the success of Bago’s aspiration of becoming the next Speaker of the House, pointing out that the positive attributes he exudes would surely guarantee him success.
According to the Monarch, “as the custodian of the tradition and values of the over 500 million Yorubas worldwide, and by the grace of sitting on the revered throne of Oduduwa, I pray for the success of your endeavour”, the royal father said.
He, however, remarked that there would be betrayals along the route to success but also charged Bago not to bear grudge against anyone when he finally gets victory in June 2019.
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