A coalition of lawmakers elected to the 10th House of Representatives is working tirelessly to elect an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate as Speaker.
In a statement released on Thursday, Usman Kumo of the APC from Gombe State and Kingsley Chinda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Rivers State said the alliance is “committed to presenting a united front that will help the incoming administration of Bola Tinubu.”
Chinda, the coalition’s co-chairperson, is a friend of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.
This comes only days after Governor Wike pledged that the PDP in Rivers will back any candidate submitted by the APC leadership for the office of speaker.
Wike revealed this during a visit to the government residence in Port Harcourt by the Deputy Speaker of the residence of Representatives, Idris Wase.
“The truth must be told,” Rivers State Governor added, “that we are going to support the leadership of your party at the national level.”
According to Chinda and Kumo, the “joint task – 10th assembly” coalition includes 283 members-elect from the APC, PDP, Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Young Progressive Party (YPP).
The coalition’s goal, according to the lawmakers, is to promote justice and fairness among members-elect in the election of presiding and primary officers.
Chinda and Kumo stated that 14 APC governors, nine PDP governors, and “several” members of the ruling and opposition political parties’ national working committees (NWC) have approved the collaboration.
“Already, 283 members-elect, including both returning and new members, have endorsed the coalition (and we now await the ruling APC’s decision on the zoning of the various offices,” the statement said.
“The forum is independent of any of the various aspirants’ speakership ambitions, but with the determination to build a strong coalition of members-elect of the 10th house in readiness to support the majority party’s zoning of the speakership office toward building a rancour-free and people-oriented 10th Assembly and in accordance with best parliamentary practice.”
Those who want to defy the APC and have a “repeat of the 2015 rebellion,” according to the coalition, should consider the consequences of such action on governance “as the sour relationship between the leadership of the 8th National Assembly and the executive left Nigeria and Nigerians on the receiving end.”
“Rebellion will deny the incoming Tinubu administration the opportunity to deliver on its mandate and meet Nigerians’ high expectations, especially given the country’s current ethnic and religious tensions.”
“We are glad that the ruling party’s leadership recognizes that the opposition political parties in the house are very important in the formation of the next leader of the house, so this coalition will continue to consult with all opposition parties.”
“We want to see a Nigeria in which all of us, the political actors, work together to put the country first, sacrificing our own interests in order to build a better country for ourselves, our children, and our children’s children.”
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