Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, reportedly met with House of Representatives candidates vying to succeed him as Speaker of the 10th National Assembly.
Gbajabiamila revealed this in a tweet on his Twitter account, saying he thinks each of the nine candidates present has the ability to lead the House and continue the work of the 9th Assembly.
He said: “Yesterday (Thursday), I met with aspirants for the office of the Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives in the coming 10th Assembly. All 9 aspirants I have known and worked with for many years and I have no doubt will do well in continuing and building on the legacy of the 9th Assembly.”
It was gathered that those at the meeting include Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase; Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation Aliyu Mukthar Betara; Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi; Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu and Chairman, House Committee in Land Transport, Tajudeen Abbas.
Others include the Chairman of the House Committee on Disaster Preparedness, Abdulraheem Olawuyi; Chairman of the House Committee on Water Resources, Sada Soli Jibia, Abubakar Makki Yalleman, and Sani Jaji.
They were joined at the meeting by Deputy House Leader, Peter Akpatason.
Sources at the meeting told The Nation that Gbajabiamila said the meeting was a kind of reconciliation to ensure the aspirants work in harmony for the common good of the House and their party, the APC.
The source said: “I think the meeting was to forge the way forward and to find a way of avoiding a rancor-free campaign for them and to avoid things that can impede the integrity of the House.
“You are aware that the party has to speak out first on the zoning arrangement for the position. On the other hand, the Speaker cannot impose any of the aspirants on the others. So, the meeting is to find a way of ensuring that they work together in the interest of all.
“It is also to ensure that the aspirants do not make any comment or statement that is negative about each other as they go about their campaign.
“He believes in the capacity of these men, having worked with them for a while now. But the party must speak out first before anyone can begin to take position.”