Speaker Dogara Concedes House Leader To Femi Gbajabiamila Group

THE camp supporting Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara has announced conceding the position of the House leader to the camp supporting Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.

But the Speakers’s camp also made it clear that the occupant of the House leader will neither come from the Southwest nor the Northeast in respect to the spirit of equity and federal character as the zones have occupied their slots.

Addressing journalists in Abuja Wednesday, spokesman of the Dogara group Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin said after the reconciliatory meeting as directed by the All Progressives Congress, APC,leadership which was headed by the immediate former Speaker and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, Dogara camp decided to concede to Gbajabiamila camp the position of speaker.

He said that if the camp turns down the offer, the only option will be to conduct election on the floor of the House by the APC members in accordance with the provisions of the House Rules.

He further said that his camp insisted not to recognise the letter from the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun that nominated four members to occupy the positions, stressing that the objection was from the fact that the letter did not pass through the National Executive Committee of the party and the House caucus.

He said while ceding the position of leader to the Gbajabiamila camp, it was made clear that the six principal officers of the House must be in tandem with the Constitution as regards the federal character, adding that it will be unfair to exclude any geopolitical zone in sharing positions.

“In line with with equity and federal character, whoever is being nominated must not come from the Southwest and Northeast in line with our strong belief in the principle of equity and federal character,” he stated.