Rep. Aliyu Betara (APC-Borno) has officially declared his intention to run for the office of the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, ahead of the June 5 inauguration.
Betara accused Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila of sponsoring an unpopular candidate to succeed him.
Betara, the incumbent Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, spoke in Abuja on Monday while declaring his intention to contest the house’s number one position.
At the event which held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Betara was joined by fellow contestants such as Rep. Ahmed Wase, the Deputy Speaker, Rep Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, the Leader of the House , Rep Sani Jaji and Rep. Tunji Olawuyi.
Other present at the venue in solidarity was the Niger Governor-elect, Rep Umaru Bago, who is a serving lawmaker and a close ally of Betara.
Other members-elect from across party divides were also at the venue.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on May 8 officially zoned the position of the Speaker to the North-West, while the Deputy Speaker was zoned to the South-East.
Abbas Tajudeen (APC-Kaduna) was chosen to succeed Gbajabiamila in the 10th Assembly while Benjamin Kalu (APC-Abia) was chosen as the Deputy Speaker.
Reacting to the development at his declaration, Betara vowed to go ahead to contest for the position.
He said it was a surprise to him when Gbajabiamila nominated Abass when many other members had indicated interest in the position.
“If today, the deputy speaker of the house is contesting, the chairman of the appropriation committee is contesting, the majority leader is contesting, then who’s closer (in rank) to the speaker? ” he asked.
Security agents had a hectic time checkmating unruly party supporters from the different parties who were at the venue of the declaration.
