A newly-formed coalition of members-elect known as the Minority Parties Forum, comprising seven minority political parties in Nigeria’s 10th House of Representatives, has affirmed the zoning plan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and adopted the party’s candidates, Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu, for Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions. The 10th Assembly – Greater Majority, an old minority coalition that allegedly supports the current Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Aliyu Betara, failed to produce candidates to contest against the APC-endorsed candidates.
Both coalitions held separate meetings in Abuja on Monday night. While the 10th Assembly – Greater Majority held its meeting at Fraser Suites, the Minority Parties Forum held its meeting at Transcorp Hilton. The Minority Parties Forum is backing the APC and its candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
In a communique signed by the Coordinator of the Minority Parties Forum, Iduma Igariwey, and the Secretary, Alhassan Rurum, the forum adopted Abbas and Kalu for Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively. The communique further revealed that the Minority Parties Forum will hold a larger caucus of the minority parties in the next few days to discuss and formalize the adoption of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker designates of the 10th House of Representatives.
The forum urged other members-elect of the 10th House of Representatives to join in the election of Abbas and Kalu as Speaker and Deputy Speaker on June 13, 2023. The 10th Assembly – Greater Majority declared after its meeting that it had yet to produce any candidates or adopt one for the 10th House.
The Minority Parties Forum decision to adopt the APC candidates comes as a surprise, since the coalition was expected to field its own candidates, considering it has 183 members while the APC has 177 in the House. However, the forum believes that Abbas and Kalu’s leadership will provide a fair and equal platform for all political parties represented in the parliament to have a say in the running of the legislature and expression of alternate views on issues of public interest.
The Chairman of the 10th Assembly – Greater Majority’s 11-man committee, Nicholas Mutu, had set up a committee tasked with shortlisting, screening, and eventually, recommending aspirants for the speakership and Deputy Speaker positions in one week. According to Victor Ogene, Secretary of the committee, some members of the 10th Assembly – Greater Majority have indicated interest in running for the leadership positions. He hinted that the opposition members might consider and adopt a candidate from the ruling APC.
The battle for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions of the 10th House of Representatives is expected to be fierce, but with the adoption of APC candidates by the Minority Parties Forum, the chances of the ruling party clinching the positions seem higher.
