10th Assembly: Plot Thickens As Opposition Reps-elect Meet Over Speakership

The House of Representatives members-elect of the opposition parties, on Tuesday, met to form an alliance ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June.

Naija News gathered that the old and new members-elect of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Social Democratic Party (SDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Young Progressives Party (YPP) were present at the meeting in Abuja.

It was learned that the opposition members-elect to fine-tune strategies for using their numbers as bargaining power in their negotiations with the speakership aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Also, it was gathered that the opposition lawmakers-elect, who unanimously formed a group, ‘10th Assembly: Greater Majority’, planned to work together to influence the election of the 10th House of Representatives leadership.

Speaking with The PUNCH on Wednesday, one of the organisers of the meeting, Ali Isa (PDP- Gombe State), said the opposition parties had the numbers to get what they wanted.

He stated “For now, the opposition has not taken any decision. We are still consulting. But we have the numbers to do anything we want.

“All the political parties, – LP, APGA, YPP, SDP, ADC and PDP – came together to be united; to also see what we can do to help this country. As I earlier said a few days ago, the National Assembly is an arm of the government and we as lawmakers are ready to work for the country; we are ready to ensure that every bill that will change the life of the common man sees the light of the day in the Assembly.

“We will also appreciate if the executive will allow the lawmakers to enjoy independence. We will also not interfere in the affairs of the executive.”

According to him, the opposition lawmakers will not recognise the zoning of the leadership positions by the APC.

Isa stated, “We have no business with any zoning. We in the opposition, what we are looking at is to unite the country to ensure people benefit. We don’t have any agenda for zoning on our table.”

Convener of the coalition, Fred Agbedi (PDP – Bayelsa), in his welcome address, said it was the inaugural meeting of the minority caucuses which he referred to as the ‘Greater Majority’ of the expected 10th House.’’

He stated that the results of the 2023 elections indicated that the opposition members could exert a lot of influence if they were united.

Agbedi said, “This session is to enable us to network, interact and familiarise ourselves as people that the results of the 2023 general election have thrown up as a new phase, having numbers that give us greater strength to deepen opposition politics and democracy.

“Therefore, we need to realise such and bond in the interest of our parties and the people we are here to represent.”

In his remarks, Abdulmumin Jibrin (NNPP – Kano State)said he was excited about the alliance among the opposition members-elect, saying that the opposition lawmakers will not be taken for granted.

He said, “Fundamentally, the reason why we had to come together, work day and night to see that we bring all the minority parties (together), which is now known from today as the ‘Greater Majority’ is because we also understand that for us to be able to put through our collective interests; for us to be able to protect our ideals as minority parties that fundamentally serve as a check to the ruling party; for us to be able to contribute to the nation-building, we must come together.

“I am telling you this with a sense of sincerity: whoever calls you for any meeting and tells you anything, they are not telling you the honest truth. If we do not put ourselves together – and we thank God that we have been able to do this today – we will not be able to march up to our interests.

“Please, I beg of all of us, let us continue the way we have started today. We will continue to put in our best to see that everybody and every member of this caucus are carried along, while also protecting the individual ideas and philosophies of the various parties that we come from.”

Also speaking, Beni Lar (PDP – Plateau State) said it was her sincere wish and prayer that the opposition unites to “start this journey of unity and friendship, achieving a common purpose and goal to bring about good leadership not just among ourselves but within the National Assembly in the 10th Assembly.”

She said, “It is a great joy to see that for the first time in a long time, the opposition, together, has become the majority in the 10th Assembly. All of us out together are now the majority and a greater majority for that matter. This is something that is priceless; something that many parliaments around the world seek to achieve but cannot achieve.”

Also present at the parley were ranking members of the House, including Oluwole Oke (PDP/Osun), Beni Lar (PDP/Plateau), Boma Goodhead (PDP/Rivers), Bamidele Salam (PDP/Osun), Dachung Bagos (PDP/Plateau), and Jonathan Gbefwi (SDP/Nasarawa), as well as a former ranking member, Abdulmumin Jibrin (NNPP/Kano), who has been reelected back to the parliament.