Gbajabiamila tackles Bago as tension mounts in race for Speaker

 

By Bukola Kayode

House of Representatives Majority Leader, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has described as false, claims that President Muhammadu Buhari is not in support the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to pick him as the preferred candidate for the office of Speaker of the 9th House.

Gbajabiamila, who was responding to a statement from the campaign team of another speakership aspirant, Rep. Mohammed Umar Bago, stressed that such claims were a misrepresentation of happenings at the presidential parley with incoming members.

President Buhari met with new members in Aso Rock on Tuesday after which it was announced that the APC had adopted Gbajabiamila, as its candidate for the office of Speaker, while the office of Deputy Speaker was zoned to the North Central.

Reacting on behalf of the Femi Gbajabiamila Campaign Team, Rep. Yemi Adaramodu, stressed that President Buhari did not criticise the national chairman of the APC, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole over the decision to back the House Leader for the office of Speaker.

Adaramodu in a statement sent to Frontline News Online, also asked Bago to stick to an issues based campaign.

The statement read in part: “The historic get-together was among other things, to strengthen the political bond between elected members and the leadership of the party, this surely should be a routine engagement of a serious and winning party like the APC.

“It amounts to perfidy and egregious chicanery for anyone, who bears the badge of All Progressives Congress to twist the content and outcome of such fraternal assemblage for unbridled self conceited ambition.

“It was a notorious fact that Mr President’s both spoken and unspoken words did not scold the party Chairman, rather he praised the Chairman for his foresight and ebullient leadership”.

The Bago campaign team had kicked against the selection of Gbajabiamila as the preferred candidate in statement entitled, ‘No retreat, No surrender’.

This is even as supporters of the Niger lawmaker stated he will not step down and that the choice of the House Leader is detrimental to culture of zoning political office.