Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said on Wednesday that the All-Progressive Congress leadership agreed to zone the House Speaker’s nomination to the Northwest as compensation for losing the vice presidency.
The decision of President-elect Bola Tinubu and the APC National Working Committee to zone two of the four national assembly seats to the North West had already sparked controversy.
Several party members have also vowed to run a candidate to challenge the committee’s nominee if the NWC refuses to review the zoning formula.
According to Mr Gbajabiamila, the Northwest wanted a descendant of the region to serve as vice president in the Tinubu presidency in return for its support. However, Mr Tinubu opted to run for president along with Kashim Shettima, a native of the Northeast.
“So, the least he could do was to compensate them with speakership in terms of what they bring to the table,” he said on Wednesday in a meeting with members-elect of the imminent 10th National Assembly.
Mr Gbajabiamila pointed out that it would be unjust to leave the Northwest without a representative in both the presidency and the national assembly, considering their efforts in setting up the party together with the Southwest.
“That is why they zoned it to the North-West, among many other reasons, apart from the number of votes that they brought—30 per cent of our figures,” he added.
The Speaker continued by endorsing Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu for the position of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House, claiming that they together make up a leadership that can compete with any House leader on the continent.
“I found in Tajudeen somebody I felt we could be proud of as members of the House of Representatives. That is not to say that others don’t have capacity but there is capacity and there is capacity,” he said.
