Over 250 Members-elect Signed-up For Abbas Candidacy

As the Speakership election draws closer, the Abbas/Kalu ticket continue to garner support and validation amongst party men, working diligently to close all ranks amongst aspirants in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

This was revealed yesterday  when the Tajudeen Abbas/Benjamin Kalu campaign team paid the National Working Committee, NWC of the party a courtesy visit at the party’s headquarters, Abuja  where over 250 members-elect from APC, PDP, NNPP,LP, ADC, SDP, APGA, YPP of both the Joint Task Force and Uinty Forum who signed-up to support and vote Hon. Tajudeen Abbas for Speaker and Benjamin Hon.Kalu for Deputy Speaker respectively give their position on the 10th NASS leadership.

The chairman who urged Abbas and his team  to continue reaching out to the other aspirants charged him to continue doing his good work.

The chairman also said, after reporting to the National Working Committee the discussions we had with the President-elect and leaders like the Vice President-elect, the Senate President, the speaker; my humble self, the National Chairman of the Party, my Deputy North, Deputy South and the National Secretary of the party, it was clear in our declaration that there is need for further and better consultations so that we can take as much as we can.

“To massage political egos so that we end up with what we want with National Assembly leadership in both Chambers. We have received all the other aspirants for the president of the Senate and the speakership of the House of Representatives. I on behalf of my colleagues wish you the best of luck” Adamu said.

The party consensus and members-elect most acceptable candidate, Tajudeen Abbas while speaking to journalist dismisses the insinuations that his endorsement is under review and maintained that his campaign train has the number to clinch the speakership seat come June 13, 2023.

“To the best of our knowledge, the party is resolate on its earlier decision
to sustain the announcement made earlier, we are not aware of any change or any decision concerning the candidature of my humble self and my colleague from the House of representatives and my colleague from the Senate. There has not been any thing like that to the best of our knowledge”. Abbas said.

Earlier, the chairman of the coalition which comprised of 8 political parties that won seats in the incoming Assembly, Rt. Hon. Usman Bello Kumo, from Gombe submitted that over 250 members-elect are currently working with the group ahead of the June 13 inauguration.

Hon. Kumo who currently chairs the Committee on Police Affairs in the outgoing House, told the party’s leadership that the choice of Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu was a wise one coming from the party, saying at the last count, over 250 members-elect have signed up to support the ticket.

“These two gentlemen are parliamentarians par excellence. They are qualified to win even without zoning. All the eight political parties are represented here. From the moment the NWC took the decision, we said this is the way to go. This is a parliamentary best practice.

“Ben Kalu is our spokesman of the 9th House. For you to be the image maker, you need to have all the required qualities and temperament to handle the work. You people are talent hunters, and you have hunted well.

On Abbas legislative credentials, Kumo said from 1999 to date, there is no parliamentarian in Nigeria who has sponsored 73 Bills. What we want to do now is to promote synergy between the Executive and the Legislature. Out of the 73 Bills, 21 were signed into law.

“All of us here are more than willing, the ones you see here, others have left for their constituencies after the induction. We would have brought over 250 members-elect here. We are going to ensure that we implement your zoning undiluted 100%,” he said.

Kumo recalled the differences in achievements between the previous Assemblies and the outgoing one which collaborated with the executive to deliver unprecedented dividends of democracy.

“Our zonal interventions and constituency projects are implemented 100% under the 9th Assembly because of the good relationship between the Executive and the Legislature,” he added.

Hon. Mark Esset, Member-elect for Uyo federal constituency while feeding questions from journalists immediately after the meeting said he is a PDP Member-elect rooting support for Hon. Abbas  likewise other members-elect across the eight (8) political parties that won seats in the 10th House.

At this point what really matter to  Members-elect and Nigerians is for the 10th House to birth a leader that is committed to effective and efficient parliamentary business.

Abbas in his address  appealed to the National Chairman to take the driver seat in seeking an amicable resolution of the impasse among the aspirants to prevent a free fight on the floor of the house.

“I want to use this opportunity to enjoin you Mr. Chairman to use this season to complete one item in your resume, you have conqueror parliamentary, several times; you were a party man several times; you were in the executive several times; you have delivered the president-elect of our party this time around

“What is only outstanding to complete your resume is to deliver the leadership of the National Assembly 2023.

“I want to urge you Mr. Chairman and members of the NWC that if tomorrow you have done one leg of your job, that is the endorsement of the people that will represent the party in the next dispensation.

“The next is to come all out, to support, to encourage, to convince every member who has a vote to come and vote for your candidate come June 13.

“Finally, Mr. Chairman, I also want to urge you as our leader – the leader of all the contestants both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, we are all your children, we want to urge you to use the position God has given you and all the members of NWC to do whatever you can to call all our co-contestants to the table, we are more than willing to sit down and agree on mutual basis what we need to do to move the National Assembly forward.

“We want your leadership to be in the driving seat, we will cooperate, we will do everything humanly possible to make sure that we operate as one from June 13th”, Abass concluded.