As Lawmakers In Katsina Tussle For Speaker’s Seat

The outcome of the governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Katsina State have flared a new permutation that stirred political gladiators lobbying to be part of the incoming administration to be sworn-in next month.

Interestingly, as big wigs, stakeholders and elected candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), prepare ahead of the May 29 transition and swearing-in, there is increasing concern about who becomes the speaker of the state assembly. This has already taken the centre stage where the concerned lawmakers are relentless in tussling for the number three position in the state.

Importantly, the outcome of the March 18 poll and the last Saturday rerun election saw the governorship candidate of the APC, Dr Dikko Umar Radda and his deputy, Faruq Lawal Jobe  as winners of the contest. The party also got an overwhelming victory as it picked 33 out of the 34 legislative seats of the house; the PDP has only one seat (Kankara LGA).

This victory has provided the APC yet another chance to control the affairs of the state, giving rise to the bargaining process on ‘who takes what’ as is the usual tradition of every political party.

Findings tevealed that the party has already zoned the speakership slot to the Daura district for being the only zone yet to attain a political space in the hierarchy of power in the next administration since both the governor-elect and his deputy Dr Radda and Jobe came from Katsina and Funtua senatorial districts respectively.

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Record has it that the Daura zone has been frequent in producing speakers of the house, due to similar scenarios where the number one and two citizens emerged from other zones, as it has been in the collective bargaining of the state.

Fact-checks equally showed that the last two successive speakers Ya’u Umar Gwajo-Gwajo and Tasi’u Maigari Zango all came  from the Daura zone within the five local governments under the Daura emirate comprising Daura, Zago, Baure Mai-adua and Sandamu. But strong indications in the recent build-up may cause a shift for the seat from the area.

The reason is that the concerned council areas have already grabbed the senatorial seat in the last election, hence the need to allow other lawmakers from the remaining seven councils (Kankia, Kusada, Bindawa Mani, Mashi, Dutsi and Ingawa) under the Katsina emirate to emerge.

LEADERSHIP Weekend reliably gathered that despite the said plan for the power-shift within the zone, there are lawmakers in the Daura emirate that are also eying the seat by all means, prominent among them is Hon Nasiru Daura, who is making a strong move to grab the seat.

And if the rumours making the rounds are something to go by, Hon Nasiru would battle the speakership seat with three-time lawmaker representing Kankia local government at the state assembly, Hon Hamza Salisu Rimaye, who according to findings, has been picked for the seat.

Another factor playing out in the alleged bargain for Kankia zone to produce the speaker of the house is heavily linked to a condition of forfeiting the secretary to the state government (SSG) slot which the director-general of the APC campaign council, Hon Ahmed Dangiwa is admiring. 

Pundits believe that getting the two positions would be very difficult for political gladiators from the Kankia axis, the constituency favoured to occupy the seat, but in a situation where care is not adequately applied, the speaker seat may likely end up in the Daura emirate.