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As the Speakership race hits a feverish peak, seven gladiators are still standing to grab Hon Yakubu Dogara’s job.
17 contestants had made their intentions known to Nigerians that they had interests to contest for the coveted office, but as at last week Wednesday, only seven had pushed their luck this far.
Initially, Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos) Sulaiman Kawu (Kano), Sulaiman Aminu (Kano), Tahir Monguno (Borno), Abdulrazaq Namdas (Adamawa), Yusuf Buba Yakub (Adamawa), Mohammed Bago (Niger), John Dyegh (Benue), Idris Wase (Plateau), Abubakar Lado (Niger), Nkiruka Onyejeocha (Abia), Chike Okafor (Imo), Olusegu Odebunmi, (Oyo), Jide Olstunbosun, (Oyo)kBabangida Ibrahim, (Katsina) and incumbent Speaker and only aspirant from the PDP, Yakubu Dogara (Bauchi) were in the race.
Only seven visible candidates out of the 17 graced the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, PDP caucus screening exercise, a pointer to the fact that 10 had dropped by the way side.
The unannounced exercise was designed to primarily look at what all the candidates have to offer and finally decide on who is most credible and thereafter endorse the best among all.
Eventually, seven of the lot graced the exercise and they were Mohammed Umar Bago, Nkeiruika Onyejeocha, the only female contestant, Jide Olatunbosun, Olusegun Odebunmi, Emeka Nwajiuba, John Dyegh and Femi Gbajabiamila, the APC endorsed candidate.
The other 10 had politely stepped aside to allow the well armoured gladiators to run to the finishing line.
At the exercise, the contenders had promised to run the House with transparency laced with juicy packages for their colleagues and the country.
But before the exercise, all the contenders had their strong selling points, pointing to either anomalies noticed in the ruling APC mode of adoption of candidates or why they felt their zones should produce the next speaker.
The South-East lawmakers had argued that for proper representation in the leadership structure in the country, the position ought to have been zoned into their domain.
They hinged their strongest point on the fact that the South-West and North-West had already occupied the position of first and second citizens of the country by order of protocol.
The North-Central came with a graphical description of how by order of ranking going by the highest number of votes the zone came third after the North East in the general elections that produced President Muhammadu Buhari.
They further hammered on the point that the positions of both number two and number four can’t be domiciled in just one state in the South West.
The lawmakers insist that for 20 years, the North-Central has not produced the speaker and since APC removed the number two position which is that of the Senate President from the zone, for the sake of equity and justice, the rightful thing to do is to domicile the number four position in their domain.
The North-West candidates, for equity sake, politely pulled out of the race since the number one position was already in their zone.
In the South-West, there are dissenting voices crying out that if the position must be zoned to South West, Lagos is not the only state in the entire South-West.
To push home their point, they had argued that Lagos alone has produced the national leader, and a super Minister heading three major ministries.
This position probably paved the way for two other contestants from Oyo gunning for the same position outside Femi Gbajabiamila in the South-West.
Olusegun Odebunmi and Jide Olatunbosun are both from Oyo in the South-West.
The South-South that is dominated by PDP and has remained on the sidelines for obvious reasons, they do not have the numerical muscle to field a candidate.
From all indications barring any last minute change, the seven aspirants may cross the finishing line on inauguration day.
Their chances
All the contenders are ranking members with enough legislative experience to run the affairs of the House.
Onyejeocha
A fourth timer and the only female lawmaker in the race is well grounded and popular among her colleagues.
In recent weeks, she took her campaign to all the nooks and crannies of the North.
She stands a good chance if the Abia lawmaker can adopt an all inclusive approach.
Gbajabiamila
He only recently got a massive endorsement from all the South-East and South-South governors, an indication that he could emerge victorious if his image handlers do not go to sleep.
He is the oldest in terms of experience and ability to run the House.
Dyegh
Seen by his colleagues as a man of many parts, the academic doctor and an orator is considered by many political pundits as the most likely dark horse in the race.
He had told whoever cared to listen that if he is offered a billion dollars he won’t step down.
Bago
About the youngest in the race, he started his crusade even before many of his rivals declared their intentions to run.
Cool and articulate, Bago has no intention of stepping down because he believes in the principle of fair play to all.
His chances of emerging speaker is quite bright as he is very popular among his colleagues.
Odebunmi
He is a third timer and a grassroots politician of well over 20years. He is in the race to prove a point that without a godfather a politician of his calibre can emerge speaker.
Olatunbosun
Young and vibrant with a large followership from the South-West is also a force to reckon with in the race.
17 contestants had made their intentions known to Nigerians that they had interests to contest for the coveted office, but as at last week Wednesday, only seven had pushed their luck this far.
Initially, Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos) Sulaiman Kawu (Kano), Sulaiman Aminu (Kano), Tahir Monguno (Borno), Abdulrazaq Namdas (Adamawa), Yusuf Buba Yakub (Adamawa), Mohammed Bago (Niger), John Dyegh (Benue), Idris Wase (Plateau), Abubakar Lado (Niger), Nkiruka Onyejeocha (Abia), Chike Okafor (Imo), Olusegu Odebunmi, (Oyo), Jide Olstunbosun, (Oyo)kBabangida Ibrahim, (Katsina) and incumbent Speaker and only aspirant from the PDP, Yakubu Dogara (Bauchi) were in the race.
Only seven visible candidates out of the 17 graced the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, PDP caucus screening exercise, a pointer to the fact that 10 had dropped by the way side.
The unannounced exercise was designed to primarily look at what all the candidates have to offer and finally decide on who is most credible and thereafter endorse the best among all.
Eventually, seven of the lot graced the exercise and they were Mohammed Umar Bago, Nkeiruika Onyejeocha, the only female contestant, Jide Olatunbosun, Olusegun Odebunmi, Emeka Nwajiuba, John Dyegh and Femi Gbajabiamila, the APC endorsed candidate.
The other 10 had politely stepped aside to allow the well armoured gladiators to run to the finishing line.
At the exercise, the contenders had promised to run the House with transparency laced with juicy packages for their colleagues and the country.
But before the exercise, all the contenders had their strong selling points, pointing to either anomalies noticed in the ruling APC mode of adoption of candidates or why they felt their zones should produce the next speaker.
The South-East lawmakers had argued that for proper representation in the leadership structure in the country, the position ought to have been zoned into their domain.
They hinged their strongest point on the fact that the South-West and North-West had already occupied the position of first and second citizens of the country by order of protocol.
The North-Central came with a graphical description of how by order of ranking going by the highest number of votes the zone came third after the North East in the general elections that produced President Muhammadu Buhari.
They further hammered on the point that the positions of both number two and number four can’t be domiciled in just one state in the South West.
The lawmakers insist that for 20 years, the North-Central has not produced the speaker and since APC removed the number two position which is that of the Senate President from the zone, for the sake of equity and justice, the rightful thing to do is to domicile the number four position in their domain.
The North-West candidates, for equity sake, politely pulled out of the race since the number one position was already in their zone.
In the South-West, there are dissenting voices crying out that if the position must be zoned to South West, Lagos is not the only state in the entire South-West.
To push home their point, they had argued that Lagos alone has produced the national leader, and a super Minister heading three major ministries.
This position probably paved the way for two other contestants from Oyo gunning for the same position outside Femi Gbajabiamila in the South-West.
Olusegun Odebunmi and Jide Olatunbosun are both from Oyo in the South-West.
The South-South that is dominated by PDP and has remained on the sidelines for obvious reasons, they do not have the numerical muscle to field a candidate.
From all indications barring any last minute change, the seven aspirants may cross the finishing line on inauguration day.
Their chances
All the contenders are ranking members with enough legislative experience to run the affairs of the House.
Onyejeocha
A fourth timer and the only female lawmaker in the race is well grounded and popular among her colleagues.
In recent weeks, she took her campaign to all the nooks and crannies of the North.
She stands a good chance if the Abia lawmaker can adopt an all inclusive approach.
Gbajabiamila
He only recently got a massive endorsement from all the South-East and South-South governors, an indication that he could emerge victorious if his image handlers do not go to sleep.
He is the oldest in terms of experience and ability to run the House.
Dyegh
Seen by his colleagues as a man of many parts, the academic doctor and an orator is considered by many political pundits as the most likely dark horse in the race.
He had told whoever cared to listen that if he is offered a billion dollars he won’t step down.
Bago
About the youngest in the race, he started his crusade even before many of his rivals declared their intentions to run.
Cool and articulate, Bago has no intention of stepping down because he believes in the principle of fair play to all.
His chances of emerging speaker is quite bright as he is very popular among his colleagues.
Odebunmi
He is a third timer and a grassroots politician of well over 20years. He is in the race to prove a point that without a godfather a politician of his calibre can emerge speaker.
Olatunbosun
Young and vibrant with a large followership from the South-West is also a force to reckon with in the race.
(Vanguard)
