House leadership: North Central, South East Reps protest exclusion

There was tension at the House of Representatives yesterday as lawmakers from the North Central geo-political zone protested the “purported” sharing of principal offices in the House by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the exclusion of the zone.

They were joined by their APC colleagues from the South East, who also accused the leadership of the party of allegedly being “unfair to the zone, in spite of working tirelessly to ensure that the APC had its presence in the South East”.

The party reportedly zoned the position of House majority leader to the SouthWest; chief whip to the NorthEast; deputy leader to the NorthWest; and deputy whip to the SouthSouth.

Going by this formula, former House minority leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, who is from Lagos State, will most likely be the new majority leader.

The chief whip will likely be Mr. Mohammed Monguno from Borno State, while the position of deputy leader will go to a member from Kano State, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa.

Mr. Pally Iriase from Edo State is likely to be the deputy whip if the proposal of the party succeeds.

The party was said to have formally written the speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on its decision, but he reportedly kept sealed lips over the matter on Wednesday owing to mounting tension on the issue.

The speaker did not read any letter from the party on the floor on Wednesday, as he was said not to be sure of what would be the likely reaction of aggrieved members.

It would be recalled that even the South South that was given the position of deputy whip, rejected it on Tuesday.

Reacting to the development, the North Central caucus said it rejected the sharing of the positions by the APC without considering the “fact that the North Central zone controls over 50 members.”

The caucus also faulted the “claim” of the APC that it consulted with all zonal caucuses before it arrived at the sharing formula.

Speaking at a news conference at the National Assembly in Abuja, the leader of the caucus, Mr. Ahmad Pattegi, said, “We, therefore, strongly reject the purported selection by the party, which we see as being in conflict with the principle of federal character as enshrined in the 1999 constitution.”