Politics

Speakership tussle: The North-East’s push

As pressure piles on the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the National Assembly principal positions, LEON USIGBE writes on the existing zoning formula that led to the South-West holding two strategic offices in 2015 political dispensation.

After losing out in the high wire intrigues-filled 2015 race to Yakubu Dogara, the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, returned to clinch the plumb job on his second trial in 2019, thus, realising his cherished ambition to become the first among equals in the lower chamber of the national assembly.

Professor Yemi Osinbajo had already been sworn in as the vice-president for his second tenure and there were critics who reasoned that Gbajabiamila should not be speaker because he hails from the same southwest zone as Osinbajo. If he were to be chosen, it would mean that the nation’s second and fourth highest political positions would be domiciled in one geo-political zone of the country to the detriment of another.

He got it anyway, for the simple reason that the 2015-2019 experience when the house was basically under the control of opposition elements was not what All Progressives Congress (APC) would want to endure for a second time. The ruling party was, consequently, compelled to de-emphasise zoning policy in favour of ranking cognate experience and competence. The lot, therefore, fell on the Lagos representative who had been house leader for the previous four years.

That scenario appears to be playing up again but this time, for the northeast. By the time there will be proclamation of the National Assembly in June, Kashim Shettima would be in office as the vice-president of the republic and Muktar Betara has a strong chance to emerge as Gbajabiamila’s successor in the House of Representatives.

Currently, the chairman of the powerful House committee on appropriation, he is of North-East extraction just as Shettima. As it was in the case of Gbajabiamila and Osinbajo in 2019, the argument is again gaining ground this term, suggesting that for the sake of spread or equity, no one geo-political zone should have more than one of the six top national positions and therefore, Betara should not be in consideration.

Despite the contentious zoning of the post of the house speaker to the North-West by the APC national leadership, the Betara camp, which has already rejected the APC move just as all other speakership aspirants except Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna State, is confident that the fifth-term house member will be chosen by the overwhelming number of his colleagues as the next presiding officer. His supporters cite the successes in the legislative budgeting process under his leadership of the appropriation committee with the highest point being his ability to work seamlessly with members from varied social, religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Beyond the fact that he considers himself the most popular with both returning and newly elected house members when compared to other aspirants, Betara, the APC member representing Biu, Bayo, Kwaya Kusara and Shani Federal Constituency of Borno State, is of the view that if zoning was not an issue in 2019 when Gbajabiamila was elected even though he is the southwest like Osinbajo, it is not likely to ruffle feathers this time if he were to be chosen to serve as speaker alongside a vice president that shares a geo-political zone with him.

Whereas the 2019 election of Gbajabiamila played into the hands of the APC and the Executive, there are fears that if the party establishment’s choice does not materialize, the likes of Betara may re-enact the Dogara era that may rock the administration of Bola Tinubu before it will have the opportunity to find its feet.

Conscious of this negative perception, the Betara campaign council is doing its utmost to allay the fear should he emerge as the speaker of the 10th House of Representatives. The director general of the council, Dickson Tarkigir, is confident that in this dispensation, the northeast will enjoy the treatment of the southwest in 2019 and he made the point that Betara will never rock the boat as speaker.

“Honourable Aliyu Muktar Betara has not and will not veer off this course. It needs to be clearly stated that his joining the 10th Assembly Speakership race now is not fuelled by personal ambition, therefore, lacks any iota of desperation that will inform working at variance with the normal expectations of his political party. The council wishes to reiterate Honourable Betara’s commitment to his party, the All Progressives Congress, that he joined hands with many party faithful to work hard to build, leading to the victory for the president-elect and all other posts as contested for on the platform of the party,” he said.

The Betara campaign council director-general also argued: “The Speakership race is a national one that will naturally attract the interests of many compatriots across all divides and inclinations, definitely not excluding the Honourable Members-elect from other parties also will have a say according to the fine details and principles of democracy. This Speakership aspiration recognises all these realities without compromising the expectations of his political party. The ultimate purpose and vision are to ensure that the 10th Assembly House of Representatives will be one united, indivisible assembly that will work harmoniously with all arms of government, particularly the Federal Government led by His Excellency, the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to enable us to meet the huge expectations of our countrymen and women.”

However, the strong protest over the zoning of the speakership, not just to the North-West but to the Kaduna State representative, Abbas, has already led to a rethink by the APC whose national chairman, Senator Abdulahi Adamu, conceded in the last few days that an error had occurred in the process of consultation that would now be fixed.

Apart from Betara, there are other strong contenders kicking against the party’s zoning position including the present deputy speaker of the House, Ahmed Wase (Plateau), incumbent House Leader, Ado Doguwa (Kano), Yusuf Gagdi (Plateau), Miriam Onuoha (Imo), among others, who all flaunt their impressive qualities that they believe make them most suitable for the coveted post.

For now, the pressure is on and is weighing heavily on the APC national leadership which, with its work cut out, must act decently in its own interest but most crucially, in the national interest, in the selection of the next House Speaker. How it resolves its present dilemma in the next few weeks will determine the level of harmony in the 10th national assembly.

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE