Ninth House: Pendulum For Speakership Most Likely To Swing To The North Central -By Daniel Chucks

ABUJA-As the June 11 date for the inauguration of the ninth assembly draws near, political parties, individual lawmakers and caucuses are already calculating where the pendulum is likely to swing as regards speakership. In this regard, North Central APC lawmakers in the House requested that the slot be ceded to the zone. According to the lawmakers, allowing the North Central to produce the Speaker of 9th House would engender the spirit of “equity, fairness, geopolitical balance and federal character.”

However, a certain school of thought believes that since the North-West and the South-West have the president and vice-president positions, respectively, North-Central zone will be given prime consideration to produce the position of the speaker in order to ensure balance and spread between and among the six geopolitical zones.

Already, three ranking APC members from the region are being touted as likely successor to outgoing Speaker, YakubuDogara. These include Idris Wase (Plateau), Yusuf Ahmed Tijani (Kogi), and Umar Bargo (Niger).They are all from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). While each of the aforementioned lawmakers has one or two factors going well for them, there are also those issues that may work against their ambitions.

Ahmed Wase (APC, Plateau)

The 55-year-old lawmaker, representing Wase Federal Constituency of Plateau State, is also a strong contender for the Speaker of the 9th House. Wase was first elected into the green chamber in 2007, and has been re-elected in 2011, 2015 and 2019. Before his elevation as House Deputy Leader in 2018, Wase was the Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Character. He is believed to command a large followership among influential lawmakers in the 8th House, which could serve him well as the campaign for the position unfolds. Besides, he is articulate with a political connection that transcends the ruling APC.

Yusuf Ahmed Tijani (APC, Kogi)

The 46-year-old lawmaker, who represents Okene/Ogori-Magongo Federal Constituency of Kogi State, is rumoured to be interested in becoming the Speaker of 9th House.

Although he is yet to publicly unveil his ambition, indications are that he is seriously making some underground moves to grab the top job in the green chamber.

The humble lawmaker enjoys cordial relationship with his colleagues across board. First elected into the House in 2011, Tijani has a legislative profile with 5 bills to his credit in this 8th House alone. He is no doubt an influential member of the House and well-loved by his colleagues for his simplicity and his unrivalled commitment to legislative duties.

Umar Bago is another speakership contender from the North Central with the backing of his state governor.

The 45-year-old Bago, representing Chanchaga Federal Constituency of Niger State, was first elected into the House in 2011.

The former bank manager also has age on his side, which is a remarkable asset, especially in the midst of a Not-Too-Young-To-Run mantra.

The Chairman, House Committee on Maritime Safety equally enjoys the goodwill of incumbent Speaker, YakubuDogara.

Having thrown his weight behind Dogara in 2015, political watchers say it is a pay-back time, especially if Dogara ultimately dumps his bid for re-election.