Lawmakers stand firm against ‘consensus speaker’

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19 May 2011

Lawmakers stand firm against ‘consensus speaker’

There appears to be hope for a neutral person to emerge as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the next session.

The House yesterday validated its new election guidelines to the office which defeated a sudden push to reverse Tuesday’s new rule which allows multiple entrants into the race and permits the election to be through the open secret ballot system and not electronic voting. This gives members a needed tool to tackle the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) decision to zone the position to the South West geopolitical zone. It also offers protection to members who may vote against the party’s consensus candidate, believed to be Ajibola Muraina from Oyo State. The lawmaker, one of the only three ranking members elected on the platform of the party from the zone, enjoys wide-ranging support across the party to emerge the next Speaker. Yet he draws scant support from his colleagues, who view him as a stooge of major party backers in the South West. The lawmakers have indicated their readiness to scuttle the party’s arrangement, asking for a liberalised contest that would allow for more candidates, amid agitations by the South East lawmakers who have intensified their campaign for the seat. In its clearest decision yet on the issue, the House on Tuesday overwhelmingly amended its Order 2, Rule 3, suspending electronic voting purportedly due to difficulties in procuring electronic cards for new members. The official explanation has been punctured by members who, speaking unofficially, hinted at a ploy against Mr Muraina’s candidacy.