As a former member of the House of Representatives, what is your view on the composition of the 10th Assembly?
Let me use this opportunity to congratulate those elected to the House of Representatives to make laws for the good governance of this country. I am happy that this time, debates at the House will be more lively and democracy will be deepened because we have eight different political parties having representations at the parliament. This will provide opportunity for robust debates on ideological lines and equally give chance to the minorities to at least have their say and contribute their quota to national development.
You’re one of those clamouring for the zoning of the Speaker seat in the 10th Assembly to the North Central. Why?
First of all, I’m glad that the clamour for zoning the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 10th Assembly to the North Central has gone so far that people are beginning to reason with us that in all fairness, that is how it should be. The reasons are not far-fetched. Firstly, what is representative democracy all about? Was it not borne out of the need to accommodate as many as possible in governance? So in a situation where in a democracy you find one side completely locked out and the others taking more than their fair share, then something is wrong. Since the 1st Republic, the North Central took the position of Speaker only once and it lasted for only three months while other zones have held it for 12 or eight years cumulatively.
That is why we said this time around, that the North Central which has the least tenure, should also be considered this time for fairness and inclusion.
But beyond that, the zone currently holds the deputy speaker position in the person of Ahmed Idris Wase, and we are saying that since he is qualified, he should be supported to take the seat.
But the parliament is not known to elect its leaders in the order of succession like you’re suggesting?
That it has not happened in our clime does not mean it does not exist or that it cannot happen here. In the United States where we copied our democracy, Thomas Phillip O’Neill, the 47th speaker of the US House of Representatives served for five complete consecutive terms and is the longest-serving in terms of continuous tenure. Nancy Pelosi, the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives also served as Speaker between 2007 to 2011 and was elected into the same position twice. This is in order to have someone who is well groomed, experienced and ready to take the office. So experience always matters even in bigger democracies. What this means in the current dispensation is that the Deputy Speaker is the most qualified to take the position having worked with and understudied both the style of the current Speaker and the demands of that office. He has been in the House of Representatives since 2007 and has been Committee Chairman, Deputy Leader and now Deputy Speaker. His influence extends beyond our shores as he is the Speaker of ECOWAS parliament and that should not be discounternanced. He has worked closely with the current Speaker and commands the respect of his colleagues. This explains the absence of rancour and division in the life of the current House of Representatives.
Whenever the Speaker had reasons to be away from plenary, Wase has presided firmly and justly to the satisfaction of all. So now that he has won his seat back to the House a record fifth time due to high performance, I see no reason why he shouldn’t be given the right of first refusal. Other deputy speakers have not succeeded their bosses because they either did not return to the House or other factors like zoning did not favour them to aspire to the seat. For instance, Chibudom Nwuche did not return to the House after serving as deputy speaker, the same thing with Nafada, Lasun etc.
But now we have a Deputy Speaker who has not only been reelected but comes from a zone with the least shot at the speakership. So it’s an opportunity for the House of Representatives to set a precedence about the order of succession by giving Wase a right of first refusal such that he should be the natural successor to Gbajabiamila unless he says he doesn’t want it. But now that he wants to take that responsibility to enhance quality leadership for the incoming administration, he should be given that chance because it will lessen the stress that comes with throwing it open to everyone. It will also prevent the acrimony and rancour that come with the contest. This time around, the ruling party cannot afford to encourage disharmony amongst members because the opposition parties could take advantage and spring a surprise like they did in 2015.
But how do you respond to those who say the national chairman of the APC is from the North Central zone?
The party is different from the legislative arm of government. There is no way you can put the position of a chairman with that of the head of a legislative arm because the two are different. While the party chairman takes care of the party, the Speaker is concerned about making laws for the good governance of the country.
The President-elect is from the South-west while the vice President elect is from the North East. The Senate Presidency would most likely be zoned to either the South South or South East for equity so we are demanding that given the contribution of the North Central to the success of the APC at the presidential elections where we gave it the third highest votes, that we should be equally recognised and compensated.
What about the Northwest that contributed the highest number of votes?
President Muhammadu Buhari who is about completing eight years as president of Nigeria is from the Northwest so the zone can be said to have had its fair share of the topmost political position in the country. Besides, it has produced three different speakers of the House of Representatives who have served cumulatively for 12 years. The only zone with the highest contribution but without commensurate compensation is the North Central.
But how popular is the APC in Plateau State given that the Labour Party led in the presidential elections and the governor lost his bid to the Senate?
Plateau State is an APC state and you can take that statement to the bank. The dynamics that guide every election is different and the people have realized their mistake and more even more resolute about voting for the APC.
What happened at the last election was unfortunate but it emphasizes the need to give the Speaker position to Plateau State in order to consolidate on the achievement of the current Speaker to the party. I just told you that Wase is from Wase Federal Constituency and is going to the House for the fifth time.
This means that he has never lost an election since he stepped into the House in 2007 even when the state was being controlled by the PDP.
It was his contribution and that of other stakeholders like my humble self that saw the APC defeating the ruling government in the state in 2015. After the formation of the APC, the Deputy Speaker has been delivering Wase to the party in all elections be it local government chairmanship, House of Assembly, Reps, Senate, governorship or presidency. Even in the last National Assembly/Presidential elections, Wase local government voted overwhelmingly for the APC. So a man with such a track record of delivery cannot be ignored if the party wants to win in subsequent elections.
