Speakership: We Have Kwankwaso’s Blessings To Support Abbas, Kalu – Madaki

A House of Representative member-elect on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Hon. Ali Madaki, has revealed that members of the party have been given consent to support the All Progressive Congress (APC) consensus candidate for the Speakership seat, Tajideen Abbas.

Naija News reports that Madaki, who is the Secretary of the Joint Task-10th National Assembly, said the group would present Abbas as Speaker of the House of Representatives for the sake of national interest.

The lawmaker said they have no business being part of the group if the NNPP presidential candidate didn’t give his blessings.

The Joint Task is said to have members drawn from APC, PDP, LP, NNPP, APGA, SDP, ADC, and YPP that won various seats at the national assembly at the conclusion of the February 25 general elections.

Madaki noted that members have resolved to give a block vote, adding that a group of aggrieved aspirants, popularly known as G7, posed no threat to them, contending it would soon deplete.

Speaking about Kwankwaso giving his blessing for them to support Abbas, he said  “If we don’t have his blessings, you won’t see myself and other members being in the Joint Task.

“For this country to move forward, we have to do away with all these sentiments and pick the best from among ourselves. The Joint Task wants to do what’s obtainable everywhere.

“The best practice in democracies is that the party with the majority of members in that assembly is allowed to pick who will be the presiding officers.

“But in allowing the party, we at the joint task decided to have certain criteria, and those are what’s your level of intellect, your contribution to the House. Abbas Tajudeen, if you look at his resume, you will see he has brought over 71 bills, and 21 of them have been assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“That’s not a small feat. I have been in the parliament for eight years, I have only one bill to my name, although in the eighth assembly, I have the highest number of motions.”

Madaki said, “If you look at it, the Joint Task itself is a kind of gang up. I’m from NNPP, the co-chair (Chinda) is a PDP member, and the Chairman is of the APC. A few days back, a greater chunk of the opposition came together and endorsed Abass. I can bet you the 10th assembly intends to work as a group and on that day, we will work as a group and speak as one.”

While commending the decision of the House Leader, Hon. Ado Doguwa, Hon. Abdulraheem Olawuyi, and Hon. Makki Yalleman to step down from the Speakership contest, the NNPP chieftain stated that “On three contestants stepping down for Tajudeen Abbas, that should not come as a surprise to Nigerians. That’s part of politics and politicking, I believe that’s good for our democracy.

“We at the Joint Task-10th Assembly Coalition believe that we should have a very robust democracy and rancour free House of Representatives where our main concern, the main focus should be the well-being of the Nigerian citizen, and how to do it is to select leaders based on competence, intellect, capacity. We believe if that’s done irrespective of party, we will have an assembly that Nigerians will be proud of.

“As of now, it’s not about having a working relationship between the APC and the NNPP. It’s about having a National Assembly that will work for Nigerians irrespective of tribe, religion, or whatever differences we have in this country.”