A pro-democracy group, the Better Nigeria Movement, has urged the lawmakers in the House of Representatives to choose competent leaders for the 10th National Assembly.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday and signed by the convener, Saliu Bako, the group also stressed the need for the lawmakers in the All Progressives Congress to elect a “loyal and competent” party man because the President cannot afford to have a power-drunk politician as Speaker of the House.
“In a meeting with all the aspirants on Thursday night, the President reiterated his commitment to allow democracy to flourish in all arms of government. We learnt that the President reiterated the need to rally around Senator Akpabio for the Senate presidency to balance the religious bias of the top three executives not being Muslims, and he unequivocally made it clear that members-elect should choose a competent Speaker amongst themselves.
“Mr. President is a Democrat. He wants the house to choose its leaders themselves. He is unhappy with some individuals dropping his name to impose a leader on the house.”
Speaking further, the group stressed the need for the lawmakers to elect competent and loyal party member as Speaker.
He said, “The House is an institution with 360 members; members should be allowed to elect one of them. Most especially, Mr. President needs a strong party man capable of overseeing the House. Mr. President cannot afford to have a stooge of a power-drunk politician who is desperate to control the house for their interests.
“In April, some individuals purportedly selected Tajudeen Abass from Kaduna State as the party’s choice for the Speakership of the House of Representatives. Some lawmakers-elect kicked against the selection, claiming they were not consulted before the decision was reached and thereby forming a greater majority group of other candidates.
“However, we are throwing our weight behind Aminu Jaji, a loyal ally of President Tinubu, as the front-running candidate. He has resolutely stood on his mandate to compete for the Speaker of the House of Representatives office, not dropping out of the race by stepping down for anyone.”