BEVERLY HILLS, April 16, (THEWILL) – If all goes as planned for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (Surulere, Lagos, South West) will be the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 9th Assembly, while his deputy will come from the North Central.
The national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, Tuesday during a dinner for members-elect of the House of Representatives, with President Muhammadu Buhari in attendance, announced Gbajabiamila, the present majority leader of the House as its sole and adopted candidate for Speaker.
“The APC has adopted Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, as its candidate for the position of the speaker of the House of Representatives in the Ninth Assembly.
“This position was reached after an intensive deliberation with the APC’s House of Representatives members-elect at a dinner with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Banquet Hall of Aso Villa.
“The Deputy Speaker’s position has been zoned to the Northcentral,” APC spokesman, Lanre Issa Onilu said in a statement.
Also, Femi Adesina, Buhari’s spokesman, told Aso Rock correspondents that the president called for unity among party members.
“90-95 percent of them are in unison, seem to agree on the position of the party. Unanimity ran through the meeting. We cannot speak for five per cent. The President urged them to maintain the unity referring to what transpired in 2015…if there is disunity in their ranks, then anything can happen,” Adesina said.
The APC has a solid majority in the house with 223 members out of the 360 available.
President Buhari had on March 26 hosted APC senators-elect to a similar dinner at the Presidential Villa where Senator Ahmad Lawan was adopted as the party’s sole candidate for Senate President.
