NEW TELEGRAPH
Ahead of the inauguration and election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in June, other political parties which won seats into the 10th Assembly are set to test their might against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) with the single majority of 162 seats.
This is even as the power game takes centre stage in the APC over the planned replacement of the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who may not last beyond May 29 this year. Sources conversant with happenings in the country’s political landscape confided in Sunday Telegraph that other parties which currently have 163 seats against APC’s 162 seats so far declared are coalescing to test their strength by electing their own Speaker as against an establishment man who will cow toe the line of the party. One of the sources said: “A sign to this is the coming together of the members-elect on the platforms of the PDP, LP, NNPP, SDP, APGA and YPP.
They want to come together to form a coalition that wants to test how firm they are. The caucuses of the old and new member have been meeting to form a coalition. Since they cannot get the President of the Senate, they want to go for the speakership and if they cannot get it, they will support someone who is not an established APC man, but will have their interests at heart.
“If they succeed in doing this, the life of the opposition would have started and interesting times may as well be here.” It will be recalled that the parties with minority seats which goes by the name Greater Majority met earlier last week and said that they are exploring ways of working together for the interest of Nigerians and not their parties. How would they do this? “Remember that there are some members of the APC who may not come out openly to join them, but will buy in into the plan because they are disenchanted,” our source added.
Another source said: “There has begun to be a rapprochement between the LP, PDP and other parties to produce the speaker of the House of Representatives. “It is going to be a fight between Wase and Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna; they are saying that they would not allow that to happen, including the ones who feel aggrieved by the outcome of the election including one or two renegades in APC. They are insisting they want to independently produce their own leaders without being tele-guided by the party. What happened in 2015 would repeat itself.
“There are those who are aying that Gbajabiamila cannot dictate to them. There is a groundswell attempt at forming a formidable and credible opposition against the APC. “What you are seeing is a sign of some disgruntled members – caucuses of an emerging opposition, one of the old parties coalescing working together to give APC a run for its money. Hence the meeting they had on Tuesday till the early hours of Wednesday.
Former Governor George Akume, Sunday Telegraph learnt may replace National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu, who sources in the party said is facing stiff opposition from within the party. Our source continued: “There is groundswell of opposition against the nNtional Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu.
From within, some are asking him to step aside. They said that he has not done well as chairman. Some people wrote that he should go. He lost his state of Nasarawa to LP in the presidential election. He may go the way of Ayu. “But some are pleading with them to sheath their swords since he led the party to victory, he should be allowed to savour the victory.
