Ben Kalu withdraws from speakership race to accept his choice for the position of deputy speaker.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila on Tuesday met with members-elect amid growing opposition to Tajudeen Abbas as the preferred choice of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the speakership of the 10th House.
The meeting, organised by the joint task, was held at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Tuesday evening. Mr Gbajabiamila and James Faleke, the Secretary of the now-defunct APC presidential campaign council made appearance.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the ruling party opted for Mr Abbas as the consensus candidate for the speaker, and Ben Kalu as the deputy speaker.
Following the announcement, several top aspirants in the speakership race allied to fight the "imposition" of Messrs Abbas and Kalu.
Deputy Speaker Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), Sada Soli (APC, Katsina), Muktar Betara (APC, Borno), Ahmed Jaji (APC, Zamfara and Alhassan Doguwa (APC, Kano) announced their coalition on Monday and vowed to defeat the consensus candidate.
Non-aligned
Bello Kumo, the chairman of the joint task, in his opening remarks before the meeting moved into closed doors, said it has yet to adopt any of the aspirants. He said the meeting was called to allow serious conversation among members.
He said all members-elect were invited to the meeting.
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"We are not aligned with any candidate. The essence of this meeting is to bring every member elect together to discuss. We will try as much as possible to have a rancour-free parliament," he said.
Kalu withdraws from speakership race, accepts endorsement as deputy
Meanwhile, Mr Kalu has also announced his withdrawal from the race and accepted the endorsement as deputy speaker.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Kalu, who represents Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State, said he accepted the decision of the party because it is supreme.
"I wish to extend my gratitude and appreciation to all who have tirelessly supported my candidacy for the speakership position of the 10th assembly.
"I believed this position was ideal for the south-east region, as it has not produced a speaker in the last 40 years.
"This decision aligns with the party's commitment to fairness, equity, and inclusiveness in all of its leadership selection processes," he said.
The 10th National Assembly will be inaugurated in June.
