"I Regret Supporting Tambuwal For House of Reps Speaker": Gbajabiamila Reveals

• Femi Gbajabiamila expressed regrets for endorsing Aminu Tambuwal for the position of speaker of the House during the 7th National Assembly in 2011
• The House of Reps speaker stated that he supported the “house project” that “installed” Tambuwal at the time
• Gbajabiamila made these remarks during a meeting of the Joint Task, a coalition of members-elect from the APC and opposition parties for the upcoming 10th National Assembly

FCT, Abuja - Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said he regrets supporting Aminu Tambuwal for the position he currently occupies, in 2011.

Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, May 17, during a meeting with reps-elect, Gbajabiamila said Tambuwal was installed, The Cable reported.

Tambuwal, the speaker of the House from 2011 to 2015, is the current governor of Sokoto state. With his eight-year two-term tenure coming to an end, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart secured a seat in the Senate to represent Sokoto South senatorial district in the 10th National Assembly.

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Gbajabiamila told his colleagues:

"You will disagree with your party just like people will disagree amongst family members, but at the end of the day, the party is an organised structure. Let no one kid you. I am here to offer advice. I have been the pioneer leader of what they call the house project at one time when we installed Tambuwal as the speaker. I regret it.”

How opposition-backed Tambuwal became speaker

Legit.ng reports that Tambuwal was a member of the PDP at the time he emerged as the speaker of the House of Representatives due to the support he got from the All Progressives Congress lawmakers.

He was embroiled in a running battle with the PDP and the Goodluck Jonathan administration after he defected to the APC in October 2014.

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The PDP, in line with its zoning policy, had zoned the position of the speaker to the southwest, while the northeast was to produce the deputy speaker. However, some PDP members, galvanised by lawmakers from the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), ganged up and violated the PDP zoning arrangement by voting in Tambuwal from the northwest, to become the speaker, while Emeka Ihedioha from the southeast emerged as the deputy.

House of Reps leadership: Minority caucus endorses Betara as 10th speaker

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the National Assembly minority caucus of members-elect in the House of Representatives denied media reports alleging that the majority of them have abandoned Aliyu Muktah Betara, for the anointed candidate of the APC, Tajudeen Abbas.

Following a meeting held late at night at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Monday, May 15, the minority caucus resorted to settling for Betara ahead of Abbas.

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10th Senate: APC Ex-lawmakers back choice of Akpabio, Barau

10th NASS: Deputy speaker, Wase declares for speakership

Legit.ng also reported that Idris Ahmed Wase, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, declared his ambition to succeed Gbajabiamila as the speaker of the green chamber of the incoming 10th assembly.

Wase declared in Abuja at a meeting featuring six other aspirants in the speakership race.

Source: Legit.ng