North Central reps-elect reject Gbajabiamila as APC’s choice for speaker

Femi Gbajabiamila

Representatives-elect from the North-Central have rejected the choice of Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, as speaker for House of Representatives in the ninth assembly.

The lawmakers made this known on Wednesday at the National Assembly.

The North-Central lawmakers consist of members from both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The legislators also presented John Dyegh as their consensus candidate.

APC had late Tuesday announced officially that it was endorsing Gbajabiamila’s candicacy for the speakership position while zoning the deputy speaker position to the North Central.

“We are not fighting the party, we are not. We shall not. We are only giving the party an opportunity to come back and look at the zoning and look at what we are saying,” said Mr Dyegh.

He added that “taking what the party says hook, line and sinker is not democratic, we are in a democracy. We have right to vie for position, there’s freedom of expression.

“We believe in party supremacy. Yes, the party is supreme. I sing that, I say it, I believe it, I go by what the party says but this is democracy and I believe we should give the Green chamber an option.”

Dyegh, who represents Gboko/Tarka federal constituency, concluded by “appealing to the party to have a rethink and rezone the speakership to the North Central for justice and fair play.”