PDP Can Produce House Speaker

The members of the People Democratic Party (PDP), who
are now in the minority in the House Representatives, may play a key
role in determining the speaker.
The PDP has now about 140 legislators, as against the All Progressives Congress (APC) with over 200 legislators.
Monitors
say a bloc vote from the PDP caucus will swipe the House leadership in
the direction it satisfies – APC zoning nevertheless.
The party
gave an early caution to the APC that it will enable that leaders who
will appear are people preferred and voted by legislators, not the
choices of ‘outsiders’.


Some candidates competing for the speakership have already advised reps to vote on the base of value over zoning.

Reminding
the events of the 7th Assembly, riding on a bloc opposition vote, the
leaving House Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal disregarded a PDP zoning plan
which favoured the South West to appear as speaker.
Usually, the
political party with the highest number of members produces the National
Assembly leadership. Well, the PDP House caucus is tasking the
tradition.
Leo Ogor, the House Deputy Leader, quoting section 50
of the 1999 Constitution (as edited), noted that the leadership in the
8th Assembly is not the limited preserve of the majority APC.
Ogor
(Delta/PDP), a returning legislator, said constitutionally, any
political party was permitted to name the Senate President, House
Speaker, their deputies and other principal officers – minority or
majority status anyhow.
The deputy leader spoke on the sidelines
of the 2015 induction certificate course on legislative studies for new
legislators held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
Section
50 (1) states: (a) a President and a Deputy President of the Senate,
who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves;
and; (b) a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from
among themselves.


However,
Ogor said the PDP caucus in the House of Representatives has not
supported or adopted any candidate for the speakership position in the
incoming Assembly.
“Nothing could be further from the truth”
the Deputy Majority Leader, Hon. Leo Ogor told reporters while
responded to the supposed “endorsement” of one of the speakership
aspirants.
The incoming 8th Assembly of the National Assembly is due to be inaugurated on June 6, 2015.
The president-elect Muhammadu Buhari has addressed to the members of the National Assembly yesterday, April 29.
He asked lawmakers to work with him in the task of addressing the development problems that challenges Nigeria.