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By Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA-Assertions that the outgoing leader of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila would be a shoo-in for the speaker of the 9th House were derailed yesterday after the first major challenger to his aspiration surfaced.

Rep. Yusuf Buba Yakub who unfolded his leadership challenge yesterday said that his sole mission in the contest was to foster peace between the three arms of government for speedy democratic growth.

With the All Progressives Congress, APC still dillydallying on the zoning formula, the prescription for bedlam was yesterday being predicted with Yakub’s challenge. That was especially given the fact that the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP with about 111 members in the next House has more than enough members to influence decision.

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The APC is estimated to have about 211 representatives in the next house. 181 members are needed to elect a new speaker.

Speaking to Journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Yakubu who represents from Gombi/Hong federal constituency of Adamawa State said that he’s qualified just like any other two term member to vie for the speakership of the House.

He said: “The only qualification to vie for post of speaker according to the rules of the House is to be a ranking member and I am a ranking member because I am returning for the second time to the House. And before you even qualify to become a member of the House of Representatives, you must have fulfilled every qualification as a Nigerian as stipulated in the constitution. So, I have fulfilled those qualifications, so I am qualified.

“One key reason why I want to vie for speakership is to create harmony between all arms of government which is very key because our major enemy today in Nigeria with the present situation we found ourselves is time.”

Yakub said that it will be in the interest of the country and his political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC to allow the status quo to remain as it concerns power structures and rotations.

“The northeast has a better chance of producing the speaker because the status quo presently is that the Speaker is from the northeast, the senate president is from the north central and the president is from the northwest and the vice president is from the south west. So, the north east has a better chance and you can see from the elections that just took place that the northwest where the President comes from has the highest votes, followed by the northeast which came second”, he said.

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