About two days to the inauguration of the seventh
National Assembly, there is tension in the Peoples Democratic Party
over the crisis on the zoning of the House of Representatives
speakership seat.
Investigations by SATURDAY PUNCH showed that the PDP leaders were disturbed about the insistence of some House of Representatives members-elect to scuttle the party’s power-sharing arrangement.
Although several meetings on the touchy issue had been held, today’s (Saturday) meeting, it was gathered, would be the PDP’s last-minute effort to find a solution to the disagreement over the speakership seat that the party had zoned to the South-West.
SATURDAY PUNCH’s sister newspaper – THE PUNCH – had on Friday (June 3) reported that President Goodluck Jonathan, PDP governors and members of the party’s National Working Committee would meet with the lawmakers-elect to persuade them to stick to the party’s zoning formula.
The PDP had on Wednesday met with the House of Representatives members-elect, but the meeting ended in a deadlock as some of them were adamant that they would not support the zoning of the speakership, even at the risk of being suspended from the party.
It was gathered that many of the anti-power sharing lawmakers, including the deputy chief whip of the sixth House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, were being tactically supported by former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar (both of whom failed to stop Jonathan from securing the PDP presidential ticket), and the two leading opposition parties.
The party leaders and Jonathan, at a meeting in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, had directed the lawmakers to abide by the party’s power-sharing arrangement.
The PDP, had after the April general elections, released a power sharing arrangement, which zoned the Senate presidency to the North-Central; deputy senate presidency to the South-East; speakership to the South-West and deputy speakership to the North-East.
The party zoned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the South-East, a slot already given to a former Senate president, Anyim Pius Anyim, who is from Ebonyi State (South-East), and its chairmanship to the North-East.
Shortly after the release of the power-sharing formula, two members of the House from the South-West – Mr. Muraina Ajibola and Mrs. Mulikat Adeola-Akande – indicated their interest to be speaker in place of Dimeji Bankole, the outgoing speaker from Ogun State (South-West).
But another lawmaker, Tambuwal, who is from Sokoto State (North-West), also indicated his interest in the post.
SATURDAY PUNCH learnt that Wednesday’s meeting was convened because of the growing support for Tambuwal by the Action Congress of Nigeria and the Congress for Progressive Change, the two major opposition parties in the country.
But at the meeting, the pro-Tambuwal lawmakers said the House should be allowed to elect its leaders independently without external interference.
Investigations showed that they stated that they were prepared to dare the PDP leaders and leave the party in the event that they were overruled.
The ACN leaders, including a former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had on Sunday met with the party’s lawmakers-elect in Lagos, where they were said to have been persuaded to vote for Tambuwal.
Tinubu, had in an interview in Lagos said, “The House of Representatives has the right to choose whoever it wants as its leader. All we have to do is to ensure that democratic principles are applied and the question of zoning is not necessarily applicable.
“One, we must allow constitutional democracy to prevail; we must encourage (the) standard of performance; (the) experience of the members and the integrity of the individuals must come to play to ensure (the) stability of the polity and the transformation that Nigeria needs.”
Tambuwal also met with the ACN and the Labour Party officials in Abuja on Monday with a view to further seek their support.
A PDP chief told SATURDAY PUNCH, “We’re concerned about the recalcitrant lawmakers, who are insisting on not abiding by the zoning formula of the party.
“We have discovered that those who are opposing the zoning of the speakership to the South-West are getting the support of Babangida, Atiku and the opposition parties.
“We do not know what they are up to, but there is concern that they are bent on taking control of the House so that (President Goodluck) Jonathan will have a tough time getting his bills through.”
Babangida had after the PDP’s release of its power-sharing arrangement accused the party of double speak.
He had wondered why the party, which opposed zoning before the general elections last April, resorted to power-sharing arrangement after the exercise.
The PDP chief, however, stated that there were strong indications that the lawmakers had strong backers, who were propping them up to disobey the party.
Efforts by our correspondents to get Tambuwal on Thursday did not succeed as his telephone indicated that it was switched off. He did not also respond to an SMS sent to him so that he could clarify his position on the issue.
But the lawmaker had in an interview with journalists said that he would not be antagonistic to the President if he emerged the speaker of the seventh NASS.
He said, “My loyalty to the President is never in doubt. I was one of the two persons who signed his nomination form when he declared his intention to contest the office of the president last year.
“At the time, the clamour for zoning by some politicians in the North was in its highest, but I signed the nomination form because I believe Mr. President’s signature is the only one that can guarantee the unity and future stability of the country.”
But a South-West PDP chief and member of its Board of Trustees, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said the PDP’s failure to ensure that the zone produced the next speaker would send wrong signals in the polity.
Babatope, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said that the zone would clinch the speakership.
According to Babatope, who was a former Minister of Transport, taking the speakership away from the South-West will generate wrong signals within the polity.
He stated, “The PDP will not toy with that idea because the party is made up of honourable men and women, whose word is their bond.”
Babatope explained that the South-West still produced the Speaker in the person of (Dimeji) Bankole after the ouster of Mrs. Patricia Etteh, stressing that the zoning arrangement would not be altered.
He said, “The South-West still produced the Speaker after Mrs. Etteh stepped down. I can assure you that the South-West will produce the Speaker. The PDP will never, ever depart from this arrangement.”
...opposition won’t let PDP alone decide speakership – ACN Rep-elect
James Azania, Benin
House of Representatives member-elect from Owan East Federal Constituency and former Secretary to the Edo State Government, Mr. Pally Iriase, has faulted the Peoples Democratic Party over its stance on the zoning of the principal offices in the lower legislative chamber.
In an interview with SATURDAY PUNCH in Benin, the Edo State capital on Thursday, Iriase condemned the zoning policy being used by the ruling party in producing the principal officers of the National Assembly, saying it fostered mediocrity on the polity.
He blamed this situation for the underperformance of the outgoing sixth NASS that is ending its term on Saturday (today).
He said, “What is the experience you are talking about? Is it the experiences that have brought odium to the National Assembly? And, for a good measure, we (the opposition members) will not leave it to the PDP alone. Let them know that we will not be unconcerned on who becomes the Speaker or deputy speaker.
“The people are tired of this meddlesomeness on who attains the leadership of the National Assembly. We, as members, should be able to know who becomes the leader because this contributes to the rowdiness that has come to be associated with the National Assembly.”
On the issue of ranking that is being touted by a section of the PDP, Iriase said, “You have many of the incoming members who have been members of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria Chairmen, some rose to become secretary to state governments, and you are now talking about experience. Those who might have been ranked might be illiterates, and you are talking about rookies. You are talking about the old order, which Nigerians are rejecting.
“I have gone through the House Standing Order and there is virtually nothing different about the National Assembly and the state houses of assembly, and the rules that apply to them.”
Iriase warned the PDP hierarchy to be conscious of the new realities occasioned by the last general elections, saying, “the important thing is that they have to be careful because the new members have outnumbered the older ones. Even the PDP membership has been overtaken by what we can term new blood in the system.
“So far so good, we’re watching them. They (the PDP) are fighting themselves over there, and inauguration being on Monday (June 6), the House has to keep itself in order and attune itself to the reality of a new Nigeria.”
By Niyi Odebode, Fidelis Soriwei, Abuja and Tunde Odesola, Osogbo Courtesy Of: Punch
Investigations by SATURDAY PUNCH showed that the PDP leaders were disturbed about the insistence of some House of Representatives members-elect to scuttle the party’s power-sharing arrangement.
Although several meetings on the touchy issue had been held, today’s (Saturday) meeting, it was gathered, would be the PDP’s last-minute effort to find a solution to the disagreement over the speakership seat that the party had zoned to the South-West.
SATURDAY PUNCH’s sister newspaper – THE PUNCH – had on Friday (June 3) reported that President Goodluck Jonathan, PDP governors and members of the party’s National Working Committee would meet with the lawmakers-elect to persuade them to stick to the party’s zoning formula.
The PDP had on Wednesday met with the House of Representatives members-elect, but the meeting ended in a deadlock as some of them were adamant that they would not support the zoning of the speakership, even at the risk of being suspended from the party.
It was gathered that many of the anti-power sharing lawmakers, including the deputy chief whip of the sixth House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, were being tactically supported by former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar (both of whom failed to stop Jonathan from securing the PDP presidential ticket), and the two leading opposition parties.
The party leaders and Jonathan, at a meeting in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, had directed the lawmakers to abide by the party’s power-sharing arrangement.
The PDP, had after the April general elections, released a power sharing arrangement, which zoned the Senate presidency to the North-Central; deputy senate presidency to the South-East; speakership to the South-West and deputy speakership to the North-East.
The party zoned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the South-East, a slot already given to a former Senate president, Anyim Pius Anyim, who is from Ebonyi State (South-East), and its chairmanship to the North-East.
Shortly after the release of the power-sharing formula, two members of the House from the South-West – Mr. Muraina Ajibola and Mrs. Mulikat Adeola-Akande – indicated their interest to be speaker in place of Dimeji Bankole, the outgoing speaker from Ogun State (South-West).
But another lawmaker, Tambuwal, who is from Sokoto State (North-West), also indicated his interest in the post.
SATURDAY PUNCH learnt that Wednesday’s meeting was convened because of the growing support for Tambuwal by the Action Congress of Nigeria and the Congress for Progressive Change, the two major opposition parties in the country.
But at the meeting, the pro-Tambuwal lawmakers said the House should be allowed to elect its leaders independently without external interference.
Investigations showed that they stated that they were prepared to dare the PDP leaders and leave the party in the event that they were overruled.
The ACN leaders, including a former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had on Sunday met with the party’s lawmakers-elect in Lagos, where they were said to have been persuaded to vote for Tambuwal.
Tinubu, had in an interview in Lagos said, “The House of Representatives has the right to choose whoever it wants as its leader. All we have to do is to ensure that democratic principles are applied and the question of zoning is not necessarily applicable.
“One, we must allow constitutional democracy to prevail; we must encourage (the) standard of performance; (the) experience of the members and the integrity of the individuals must come to play to ensure (the) stability of the polity and the transformation that Nigeria needs.”
Tambuwal also met with the ACN and the Labour Party officials in Abuja on Monday with a view to further seek their support.
A PDP chief told SATURDAY PUNCH, “We’re concerned about the recalcitrant lawmakers, who are insisting on not abiding by the zoning formula of the party.
“We have discovered that those who are opposing the zoning of the speakership to the South-West are getting the support of Babangida, Atiku and the opposition parties.
“We do not know what they are up to, but there is concern that they are bent on taking control of the House so that (President Goodluck) Jonathan will have a tough time getting his bills through.”
Babangida had after the PDP’s release of its power-sharing arrangement accused the party of double speak.
He had wondered why the party, which opposed zoning before the general elections last April, resorted to power-sharing arrangement after the exercise.
The PDP chief, however, stated that there were strong indications that the lawmakers had strong backers, who were propping them up to disobey the party.
Efforts by our correspondents to get Tambuwal on Thursday did not succeed as his telephone indicated that it was switched off. He did not also respond to an SMS sent to him so that he could clarify his position on the issue.
But the lawmaker had in an interview with journalists said that he would not be antagonistic to the President if he emerged the speaker of the seventh NASS.
He said, “My loyalty to the President is never in doubt. I was one of the two persons who signed his nomination form when he declared his intention to contest the office of the president last year.
“At the time, the clamour for zoning by some politicians in the North was in its highest, but I signed the nomination form because I believe Mr. President’s signature is the only one that can guarantee the unity and future stability of the country.”
But a South-West PDP chief and member of its Board of Trustees, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said the PDP’s failure to ensure that the zone produced the next speaker would send wrong signals in the polity.
Babatope, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said that the zone would clinch the speakership.
According to Babatope, who was a former Minister of Transport, taking the speakership away from the South-West will generate wrong signals within the polity.
He stated, “The PDP will not toy with that idea because the party is made up of honourable men and women, whose word is their bond.”
Babatope explained that the South-West still produced the Speaker in the person of (Dimeji) Bankole after the ouster of Mrs. Patricia Etteh, stressing that the zoning arrangement would not be altered.
He said, “The South-West still produced the Speaker after Mrs. Etteh stepped down. I can assure you that the South-West will produce the Speaker. The PDP will never, ever depart from this arrangement.”
...opposition won’t let PDP alone decide speakership – ACN Rep-elect
James Azania, Benin
House of Representatives member-elect from Owan East Federal Constituency and former Secretary to the Edo State Government, Mr. Pally Iriase, has faulted the Peoples Democratic Party over its stance on the zoning of the principal offices in the lower legislative chamber.
In an interview with SATURDAY PUNCH in Benin, the Edo State capital on Thursday, Iriase condemned the zoning policy being used by the ruling party in producing the principal officers of the National Assembly, saying it fostered mediocrity on the polity.
He blamed this situation for the underperformance of the outgoing sixth NASS that is ending its term on Saturday (today).
He said, “What is the experience you are talking about? Is it the experiences that have brought odium to the National Assembly? And, for a good measure, we (the opposition members) will not leave it to the PDP alone. Let them know that we will not be unconcerned on who becomes the Speaker or deputy speaker.
“The people are tired of this meddlesomeness on who attains the leadership of the National Assembly. We, as members, should be able to know who becomes the leader because this contributes to the rowdiness that has come to be associated with the National Assembly.”
On the issue of ranking that is being touted by a section of the PDP, Iriase said, “You have many of the incoming members who have been members of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria Chairmen, some rose to become secretary to state governments, and you are now talking about experience. Those who might have been ranked might be illiterates, and you are talking about rookies. You are talking about the old order, which Nigerians are rejecting.
“I have gone through the House Standing Order and there is virtually nothing different about the National Assembly and the state houses of assembly, and the rules that apply to them.”
Iriase warned the PDP hierarchy to be conscious of the new realities occasioned by the last general elections, saying, “the important thing is that they have to be careful because the new members have outnumbered the older ones. Even the PDP membership has been overtaken by what we can term new blood in the system.
“So far so good, we’re watching them. They (the PDP) are fighting themselves over there, and inauguration being on Monday (June 6), the House has to keep itself in order and attune itself to the reality of a new Nigeria.”
By Niyi Odebode, Fidelis Soriwei, Abuja and Tunde Odesola, Osogbo Courtesy Of: Punch
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