The All Progressives Congress (APC) and members-elect of the House of Representatives from Niger State have dashed the hope of member representing Chanchaga federal constituency of the state, Mohammed Bago, of becoming the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
At a meeting in the Government House, convened by Governor Abubakar Bello, the state decided to throw its weight behind Femi Gbajabiamila for Speakership and Ahmed Lawan for the Senate President.
Bago is one of the key contenders for speakership of the ninth National Assembly.
Niger APC’s chairman, Engineer Jibril Imam, told reporters that the state had decided to follow the stance of the party.
According to him, the position of APC’s national leadership on who emerges leader of the 9th Assembly stands.
“Going by what happened during the tenure of the 8th National Assembly, the party at all level decided to reach a middle ground to enable us present a formidable front on the matter,” he stated.
Imam said the meeting was a follow up to an earlier one by all APC state chairmen and Governors from the North Central states in Abuja.
He pointed out the Minna meeting was attended by serving and elected members from the state who unanimously adopted the two candidates for the positions respectively.
He further said that the endorsement was to avert the reoccurrence of the 8th Assembly, which was unpalatable and slowed down the progress of the nation in the last four years.
“We are loyal party members and have resolved to toe the position of the party by endorsing Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan as the Senate President of the 9th Assembly and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as the Speaker of the 9th Assembly.
“Our experience in the 8th Assembly is not palatable and it has slow down our progress in the last 4 years and we don’t want a repeat of that,” he reiterated.
Speaking on behalf of the Representatives members-elects in Niger state, Abdullahi Mahmud representing Agaie/Lapai constituency, said the adoption of the duo of Lawan and Gbajabiamila was an affirmation of party supremacy.
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