By Levinus Nwabughiogu, Abuja

A two-horse race is imminent in the hot chase for the speakership of the incoming House of Representatives. It is 48 hours to the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly and so, the die is finally cast.

At the beginning of the race which came shortly after the February 25 general elections, over 12 ranking lawmakers indicated interest in the speakership of the 10th House.

They include Rep. Ahmed Idris Wase from Plateau State; Rep. Makki Yalleman from Jigawa State; Rep. Adamu Yusuf Gagdi from Plateau State; Rep. Benjamin Kalu from Abia State, Rep. Peter Akpatason from Edo State; Rep. Muktar Aliyu Betara from Borno State; Rep. Sada Soli from Katsina State; Rep. Tunji Olawuyi from Kwara State; Rep. Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna State; Rep. Aminu Sani Jaji from Zamfara State; the leader of the 9th House, Rep. Ado Doguwa, from Kano and Rep. Miriam Onuoha from Imo State.

But on Monday, May 8, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) made a choice in Abbas as the Speaker nominee and Kalu as Deputy Speaker nominee respectively. While Abbas represents Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, North-West, Kalu represents Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State, South-East.

Acrimony

Unfortunately, fury, acrimony and trepidation greeted their nominations as the rest of the aspirants vehemently opposed it. Their chief reasons ranged from lack of consultation before the consensus announcement to some perception that Abbas was a dark horse amongst the 360 lawmakers of the House.

But the reasons swiftly received knocks from many lawmakers-elect who poohpoohed the submissions, saying Abbas, who sponsored 74 bills and had over 20 signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari, cannot be unknown amongst his colleagues.

To this end, the aggrieved aspirants were forced into a group of seven (G7) with the aim of giving Abbas a good run in the speakership bid. But as the time for the inauguration inches closer, the ranks of the G7, made up of Wase, Betara, Gagdi, Soli, Onuoha, Jaji and Doguwa,have depleted with some of them getting convinced by the candidacies of Abbas and Kalu. Doguwa, Yalleman, Olawuyi were the first aspirants to jilt the group and joined the Abass campaign trail with a strong call on their contemporaries to follow suit.

Recall that at the time, members of G7 had enjoyed the tremendous support of the opposition parties under the aegis of the ‘Greater Majority’.

Reverse

But Sunday Vanguard can authoritatively report that the reverse is now the case. Though members of the G7 were insistent, vowing to nominate one of them to run, they have since lost steam, leaving only Wase and Betara to their fate.

It was learnt that Betara recently met with Vice President Kashim Shetima (they are both from the North-East) where he was counseled to drop his ambition for the APC ‘anointed’ candidates.

Outside the meeting with the Vice President, sources said he had cut a deal for himself and his supporters.

The deal reportedly included retaining his position as the Chairman, Appropriations Committee in the 10th House and the chairmanship of 30 Committees for his supporters.

An impeccable inside source who craved anonymity said Betara, who had agreed to the deal to back the Abbas’ candidacy a few days ago, however reneged on the promise in the belief that permutations in the Senate may still favour him.

In the Senate, there is also a strong opposition against the candidacy of Senator Godswill Akpabio who’s the APC preferred choice for the Senate President from the camp of Senators Orji Uzor Kalu, Abdulaziz Yari and Osita Izunaso who are also running for the office.

But Sunday Vanguard gathered that Betara was going to announce his withdrawal from the race at the 11th the hour, barring his insistence to run to the end.

No going back

For the immediate past Deputy Speaker of the House, Wase, who is also a member of the G7, there is no going back whether he wins or not.

Recall that Wase had, during the valedictory session of the House on Wednesday, declared that his speakership ambition was premised on a prophetic utterance of his political leader and former governor of Plateau State, Solomon Lar.

Besides, sources said Wase was further propelled by his erstwhile position in the sense that, having risen to the height of occupying the number two seat in the parliament, it would be a somewhat demotion to remain in the House as a floor member.

They added that Wase is likely to be the only one to contest against the run of play. “Of course, I want to appreciate my political leaders, among whom I would say is Solomon Lar who, when I was contesting 2007, I went to him and he prophesized the number of times I will come to this Assembly and I will tell this crowd and to the world, that he said, I will come to the Assembly in the number of times and prophesized even the number of leadership positions that I will attain and the deputy speakership and he prophesized next when I return, and I believe I will be Speaker and I believe I Insha Allah, I will be the Speaker of the Green Chambers”, he had declared. Meanwhile, the candidacies of Abbas and Kalu have continued to gain support. Recall that the ‘Greater Majority’ which was later divided on the choice of candidates has returned to queue behind Abbas and Kalu, jilting the G7.

‘Why ‘Greater Majority’ bowed’

In an interview, the Leader of the Labour Party (LP) Caucus for the 10th Assembly and one of the spokesmen for the ‘Greater Majority’, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, marshaled out reasons Abbas and Kalu were the lawmakers’ choices for the two presiding offices. He said: “Beyond mere endorsement, I think that the emergence of both men as leaders of the emergent 10th Assembly of the House of Representatives is already a fait accompli. “Why? In spite of the wave of condemnations that attended their ‘adoption’, they have remained focused, andkept their eyes on the ball. “In fact, I can say, with every emphasis at my disposal, that both men ran the most pragmatic campaigns in terms of engagement with members-elect.

“They were neither laidback nor sat in any comfort zone as ‘anointed’ candidates. “Besides the Rt. Hon. Aliyu Muktar Betara, whose aspirationattracted the most support from both returning and new members because of his own parsonage, the duo of T. J. Abass and Benjamin Kalu eventually earned their own stripes.

“Let me reiterate, I had earlier explained the raison d’etre for the opposition to their candidature in the early days of their adoption by the APC. “But rather than relax and bask in the euphoria of the adoption, they stepped up consultations amongst members-elect, showcasing in the process what the famed novelist, Chinua Achebe, described as ‘solid personal achievements.’

“For Abass, who in one legislative cycle of four years, sponsored a total of 74 bills – 22 of which received presidential assent – and Kalu, with over 40 bills, both men, I dare say, appear to have fulfilled the conditions precedent for their emergence as Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

“Indeed, for the Abass/Kalu ticket, the inclusion of the South-East in the equation is a masterstroke.

“Till date, no other speakership aspirant has offered the zone anything. Then, of course, the much-hyped G7 eventually failed to live up to expectation in terms of providing a credible alternative, leading up to a denouncement.

“But be that as it may, the outcome of the power-play in the Senate may ultimately influence, one way or another, the final outcome of the race.”