FORMER Minister of State for Information and Communication, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki Nakande, has appealed to elected members of the House of Representatives from the North Central zone to adopt the current Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, as Consensus Candidate for the position of Speaker in the 10th Assembly.
Nakande said now that is has almost been resolved that the North Central zone should take the speaker seat, Honourable Members from the zone should not be seen fighting among themselves but should put a common front and adopt a consensus candidate for cohesiveness and unity
He said the choice should be determined by ranking, merit and experience in order for the zone to be taken seriously in its quest to occupy the speaker position.
The former minister who is a chieftain of the APC in Plateau State, said Hon. Wase has come a long way rising from a Committee Chairman to Deputy House Leader and now Deputy Speaker.
He said most remarkable is the contribution of the Deputy Speaker towards constitutional amendment where as deputy chair of the committee, he facilitated the signing into law of 19 bills assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, 16 of which altered some provisions of the 1999 Constitution allowing states in the country to licence, generate, transmit, and distribute electricity.
Alhaji Nakande said luckily for the North Central, it already has such an experienced and ranking member to choose from which makes the race less cumbersome.
“Rep members from the North Central zone should not be seen as fighting themselves. The zone has earned the respect of other zones in the way it chose its parliamentary leaders in the past and this should continue.
“When the Deputy Senate President position was zoned to the North Central between 1999 and 2007, the zone unanimously supported Haruna Abubakar and Ibrahim Mantu.
“In 2007, when it was decided that the senate presidency should go to North Central, leaders of the zone decided that since Senator David Mark was the most senior, that he should have it and when he came back in 2011, there was almost no contest against him by senators from the zone.
“In the same manner, in 2019, we supported Ahmed Idris Wase for the position of Deputy Speaker.
“Fortunately for us, the Deputy Speaker has not betrayed our trust since he assumed that position as he has taken the responsibility seriously to the satisfaction of all and has given a good account of himself on all counts.
“He has helped many to stand and his doors continue to remain open to all so we cannot ask for a better person to be speaker in the 10th Assembly more so as he has blended and worked with the executive arm as well as other notable leaders and legislators from all parts of the country.
“The only thing we can do to encourage him and maintain our respect and dignity as a zone is to adopt him as the consensus candidate for the North Central and appeal to others who are interested in the position but do not have the years of experience to step down their ambition in favour of Wase.
“Rest assured that the sacrifice and brotherly love shown by any member in this regard will be greatly appreciated as Wase is not one to overlook any favour extended to him.”
The former minister thanked the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu for stating that his choice of people to work with will be determined by their ability to deliver and added that Wase has the ability to support the administration achieve results due to his experience and track record as an achiever.