Reps: Another fresh member joins speakership race

Daily Trust reports that another newly elected member, Ahmed Abu, from Niger State, had last week indicated interest to join seven other returning lawmakers who are already vying for the speaker’s seat.
Based on the House rules, only returning lawmakers are allowed to vie for the speaker’s seat.
But Kazaure, elected from Kazaure/Roni/Gwiwa Federal Constituency of Jigawa State on the platform of APC, said as a fresh lawmaker, he is entitled to vie for the position since it did not go against the provision of the Nigerian constitution.
He said during an interaction with journalists yesterday in Abuja that members-elect, who have majority of the lawmakers with 302 members, deserve to produce the next speaker based on what the constitution says.
“The rule that says only a ranking member would be speaker is the House’s rule that is inferior to the constitution, and made by PDP when they had the majority and now APC is having the majority.
“The constitution says members-elect are to choose their speaker, the constitution did not say old members. With 302 new members, and only 58 returning members, we are the majority. How can a minority rule the majority?” said the new member, who defeated serving Rep Bashir Adamu, a 16-year senior ranking member.
On the APC’s zoning decision, however, the member said he would be ready to back down should the party decide to zone him out from the race.
But he warned that should the old or ranking members force their way against the new-members’ majority advantage, they would re-organise themselves and impeach whoever might be elected from “the minority old members.”