Speakership: Gagdi parleys Abia governor-elect, meets members

The member representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency of Plateau State in the House of Representatives, Yusuf Gagdi, has met with the Abia State governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti, to sell his candidacy for the 10th House of Representatives Speakership race.

Gagdi, who is the chairman, House Committee on Navy, said he has also met with 24 governors and members-elect as part of his consultations as horse trading for the next House leadership gathers momentum.

Briefing journalists in Abuja on his recent moves, Gagdi said he had interaction with Alex Otti, the Abia state governor-elect in Lagos and also met some House of Representatives members-elect on the platform of Labour Party (LP) as well as other stakeholders in Enugu state to seek their support.

He said he was also in Enugu where he met with the LP governorship candidate in the last election and other stakeholders of the party.

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The lawmaker promised to be a speaker for all Nigerians irrespective of religious, ethnic and political differences; promote good legislation, justice and progress of the country if elected.

Gagdi said for fairness and equity, the position of the speaker in the 10th Assembly should be zoned to the north-central even as he promised to adhere to the decision of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Plateau lawmaker, who announced that he would flag off his campaign between April 25 and 30, said he had visited 24 governors across the country about his ambition.

He said, if elected as the next Speaker, he would stop the duplication of projects and waste of public resources in every budget cycle.

“I intend to stop the initiation of the proliferation of projects. The project will commence with taxpayers money and it won’t be completed, another similar project will be initiated due to political intentions. That is what is wasting taxpayers’ money.

“I have intentions to correct these. In the area of justice, I feel I’m from the north-central and the region deserves to be speaker if you are zoning it to northern Nigeria. It’s only north central that has not produced Speaker in the past years.

“I want to be the speaker for the Nigerian people. I don’t want to be a regional speaker. God’s willing, I will be a speaker for the Nigerian people irrespective of tribe, or religion. I will be a speaker that his primary responsibility is to add value to the people of this county,” he stated.

Gagdi said as he was imminently qualified to be speaker going by his legislative prowess, having sponsored 12 bills in the last three years with six of them given presidential assent, insisting that youths should also be given a chance to head the House.