THE SUN
From Ndubuisi Orji and Fred Itua, Abuja
Ahead of the June 13 inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, plot by some members elected on the platform of opposition parties to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives might have hit the rocks
The move, Saturday Sun gathered, is buoyed by the majority stake of the opposition parties in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly.
The outcome of the recent supplementary elections swelled the number of the elected members of opposition parties in the 10th House of Representatives to 182, one vote more than the statutory benchmark 181 votes required to elect a Speaker
Since the introduction of the presidential system of government in 1979, no ruling party in Nigeria has failed to secure a majority in the National Assembly.
According to available records, APC won over 176 seats in the House of Representatives, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 118 seats. The Labour Party (LP) has 35 seats, with the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) winning 19 seats. All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won five seats, while the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and ADC African Democratic Congress (ADC) have two seats each. Young Progressives Party (YPP) has a single seat.
According to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, every elected member has the statutory right to run for any leadership position, subject to the standing orders of the House.
A fifth term member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the lower chamber’s Committee on Public Accounts, Oluwole Oke, said the opposition has a comfortable majority to produce the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He said members-elect of the various opposition parties are meeting regularly, revealing that the law doesn’t forbid them from producing the Speaker.
Similarly, a member-elect, Afam Victor Ogene, said every member is entitled to run for any position in the House of Representatives
“Besides the issue of ranking, every member is entitled to run for the office of Speaker, regardless of political party affiliation.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) or any political party for that matter, reserves the right to regale itself with talks about micro-zoning leadership positions in the National Assembly. But the overriding question remains, are such fanciful engagements binding on the generality of members-elect? The answer today, tomorrow and until our current constitution is altered to reflect that desire is a big No.
“Issues surrounding this all-important question is easily resolved, in the case of the House of Representatives, by Section 50(1)(b), to wit:” There shall be a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.
