Udora Orizu in Abuja
The race for the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives has taken a different turn as the relationship between outgoing Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, and his Deputy, Hon. Idris Wase, has worsened
Recall that Wase, and other members of the G7 aspiring to be Speaker have been simmering with resentment over the decision of Gbajabiamila to endorse APC’s preferred candidate, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.
THISDAY gathered that the Deputy Speaker has stopped attending the pre-plenary leadership meetings since he officially declared his intention to contest for the position last week.
Also, Wase was said to no longer join the Speaker in the procession to the plenary, which is the standard practice. But since last week, Wase has stopped accompanying the Speaker into the chambers. Rather, he comes alone and takes his seat on the floor.
A reliable source who pleaded anonymity said, “I want to confirm to you that the deputy speaker has taken the fight for speakership to another level. I can’t imagine how angry he is. I hope you media are taking note that since last week after his (Wase) declaration, we are told he has stopped attending pre-plenary meetings with the speaker and body of principal officers.
“You will notice that even today (Tuesday) if you were here (chambers), he wasn’t on the speaker’s procession to the plenary. Or did you see him when the speaker was coming in? No! But I say this is puerile because the speaker has the right to support whoever he wants to succeed him. So, how can the deputy speaker be taking this to be a personal fight between him and Speaker Gbajabiamila”.
The source also alleged that Wase and his group had last week made an attempt to amend the House Rules in order to return the voting pattern to secret balloting but they foiled the plan.
“He is just looking for ways to express his anger and spite the speaker. Even last week, he and his group made an attempt to re-amend the House Rules so that voting on that day will be by secret balloting. But it failed because we got wind of the plan and frustrated them. How can a man who is so desperate be able to handle the House as a speaker?”
It will be recalled that Wase had penultimate week led the G-7 aggrieved aspirants to the APC national secretariat where he openly accused Speaker Gbajabiamila of being behind the choice of Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and undermining other aspirants.
He told the national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and his leadership that he had told Gbajabiamila that he misled the president-elect on the choice of the Speaker and that Tinubu was not behind the choice of Abass.
Wase also accused the party leadership of betraying other contestants, having initially asked them to slow down their campaigns and give room for consultations.
Meanwhile, at a meeting with the Joint Task -10th Assembly coalition and members-elect last week, Gbajabiamila explained that he chose Abbas ahead of other aspirants because of his competence, capacity and loyalty to the party.
According to him, “If I don’t support you today, we all have to fear God, it’s for a reason. It’s not because I have a problem with you. It’s not because I don’t like you. It’s because as I stand here today, for those who know me, I just won my sixth term, perhaps the oldest legislator except for one. It’s because I eat, drink, and sleep and wake up with the legislature in my heart. That’s my constituency and I love that institution such much.
“So, I decided to support a person that’s least close to me of everybody that is running because I saw in him a man with tremendous capacity. I stand before you here as a testament to what party loyalty and consistency can do in your life. I have a story to tell and I am sure everybody has one story or the other to tell. My story may not be unique. I came here on the platform of a party. We don’t have an independent candidacy in Nigeria. It’s not in our constitution or laws. Perhaps, one day we will get to that point. But my core belief is that if I come here on the platform of a party, there is a saying all over the world that your party is always supreme”.
