Frontline Aspirants for the position of the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives under the aegis of G7 and Greater Minority Caucus comprising Members-elect from the seven Opposition Parties unanimously adopted a Consensus Candidates for the positions of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
The high-level meeting which took place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja was aimed at taking a common position on the leadership of the House of Representatives in the incoming Assembly.
Greater Minority is made up of 182 members-elect across Minority parties including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Labour Party (LP); New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP); Africa Democratic Congress (ADC); Young People’s Party (YPP); All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
On the other hand, the G7 are Aspirants for the position of Speaker who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
They include the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase; Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi; Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara; Hon. Sada Soli; Hon. Mariam Onuoha and Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji.
Confirming the development, Hon. Gagdi in a statement made available to Parliamentary Correspondents in Abuja, confirmed that the Members-elect unanimously settled for Candidates that will be acceptable to majority of them.
He however noted that the Groups unanimously “decided to wait for a later date to unveil the candidates.”
According to him: “The G7 met with Greater Minority and agreed on consensus candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker but we will not mention the names yet.
“We reached the agreement based on the best choice of people that will be acceptable to the majority of all parties involved.
“We have formed this alliance to resist all attempts by external forces to impose leadership on the 10th House of Representatives.
“Be rest assured that the next leadership of the House will emerge from us,” he stressed.
Also speaking separately on the outcome of the meeting, another G7 member, Hon. Sada Soli reiterated the Group’s commitment to work with the Greater Majority in the bid to provide a level playing field for all the Members-elect across party lines.
Hon. Soli who appreciated the Greater Majority Caucus, assured them of the unalloyed support enjoyed so far.
While responding on behalf of the Greater Majority, Hon. Fred Agbedi thanked the G7 Caucus for seeing the Greater Majority as partners in progress for the progressive growth of the 10th House of Representatives and to maintain its sacredness.
He assured the G7 that the Greater Majority Caucus has not endorsed any candidate and will work with all Members-elect of the Minority to ensure that the 10th House has a Speaker for all.
