“What I demand from you is to be magnanimous in victory and run an inclusive leadership, ensure you give all tendencies their fair share of committees of the house, give PDP its own, give LP their own, SDP is an offshoot of APC, make provision for them”
Those were the words of Kashim Shettima, the Vice President Elect of the federal republic of Nigeria, while playing host to a pressure group among the members- elect of the House of Representatives, popularly called the Joint Task team, who are supporting the ambition of Tajudeen Abbas, Benjamin Kalu as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th Assembly.
While this meeting was ongoing, the current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt Hon Idris Wase and his team had converged on Congress Hall at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, where he was making it his official, his declaration to contest for the office of Speaker House of Representatives in the coming Assembly.
The two scenarios above are pointers to the fact that a political implosion is brewing among the top echelon of the party, as the scramble and partition of the National Assembly continue.
The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress had through its publicity Secretary announced that Former Governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Apkabio and the Chairman Senate committee on Appropriations Senator Jubril Barau are the anointed candidates for the position of President of the Senate and its Deputy, while Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna state and Benjamin Kalu from Abia state of south east were also announced as the consensus candidates of the party for House speaker and deputy respectively.
Given, the euphoria of this announcement, the Joint Task team in the coming Assembly are striving to legitimize the party declaration, so the visit to Senator Kashim Shettima on 12th of May 2023 at his Asokoro home in Abuja was in that respect.
Already, it appears the opposition to the APC’s choice in the Senate may not be a source of concern, given the huge influence of Akpabio, a former minority leader of the red Chamber, but the growing anger and discontent in the House may be preparing ground for the upset of similar scenario that played out in the 7th and 8th assemblies, especially the Tambuwal treatment in the House.
As the gale of declarations continue, two major contenders may be too difficult for the APC to crack in this power game.
Hon Mukatr Aliyu Betara, an accountant by training, who represents the Biu/Bayo/Shaji and Kwaya Kusar Federal Constituency of Borno State is perhaps the major threat in the ongoing power game, his influence, deep pocket, long period of time spent in the House of Representatives and generosity has given him the clout of a leader, whose influence may require more than NWC’s declaration to address.
Betera, Chairman,House committee on Appropriations is one of the landlords of the green chamber, he was first elected in 2007 and has since remained in the green chamber. He was rumoured to have played the significant role of unseen hand that gave Yakubu Dogara the Speakership of the House in the 8th Assembly, even before then, it was gathered that he played a major factor in Tambuwal ‘s emergence in the 7th Assembly, his decision to honour the request of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the choice of Femi Gbajabiamila as the most preferred candidate for Speaker in the 9th assembly saved the day for the Surulere federal constituency Rep.
Although Yusuf Gagdi and Idris Wase representing the voice of the North Central are not push over in the ongoing power game, but if there’s anyone giving the APC and its group of anointed candidates sleepless night, it’s Mukatr Betera.
It is therefore not surprising that at the meeting of Joint Task team of the House members- elect with Kashim Shettima, pacifying Hon Betara as an entity and perhaps others put together was the focus.
While promising to work harmoniously with the executive to achieve the national objectives of the coming government, without undermining the independence of the legislature, the duo of Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu promised to be partners in progress to the executive.
Tajudeen Abbas said “history is about to be made, this is the first time in the history of Nigeria that both the number one and number two citizens of Nigeria will be products of the National Assembly, it thus means that your language will be our language”.
But beyond this optimism, Vice President Elect, saw the need to calm the frayed nerves, featuring prominently in his thoughts was the need to reach out and pacify other tendencies, with emphasis on Muktar Betara, who he called a very close brother.
The former Borno state governor saw what other may be pretending not seeing coming, as he said once executive lost the grip of the national assembly, its almost certain, little or nothing could be achieved, citing the instances of the roles played by leadership of the National Assembly in the first term of President Olusegun Obasanjo, first term of Muhammad Buhari, and the Tambuwal phenomena in Goodluck Jonathan government.
Whether APC and its leadership will be able to handle the stupendously rich Betera and his network of friends to abandon his Speakership aspiration yet again, time, the arbiter of event will tell .