By Adamu Aminu
Bashir Usman Gorau, a newly elected member of the House of Representatives from Sokoto state’s Gada-Goronyo Federal Constituency, has criticized Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s endorsement of the 10th National Assembly’s leadership.
Senators Godswill Akpabio and Barau Jibrin have received the support of the president-elect and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) to serve as the Senate and deputy Senate president of the 10th National Assembly, respectively.
They also supported Tajuddeen Abbass and Benjamin Kalu for Speaker of the House of Representatives and their respective positions.
However, in response to the endorsement, the 33-year-old, who was elected on the PDP platform, said that the endorsement will not have any beneficial effects and that the constitution of the nation fully empowers the members of the National Assembly to choose the best candidate they believe is qualified to lead them.
The Member-elect said on Trust TV’s Daily Politics on Wednesday that both Tinubu and departing Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila should let the 10th Assembly’s members choose their leaders because they won’t be present when the leadership performs its duties in the house.
Being the president-elect, Tinubu has no constitutional authority to make decisions for us. They have no interest in this. The members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are involved in this matter on separate levels.
He declared, “We will not tolerate it. By this support, they are essentially invading into the National Assembly, which will probably undermine the statutory behavior of the legislature.
Speaking specifically about the House of Representatives, Gorau stated that the majority of the incoming members, including APC members, do not support the endorsement by the outgoing lawmakers.
He claimed that even though the APC is the current government, it lacks the authority to appoint a speaker of the House. He also claimed that the opposition parties make up twice as many of their membership as the APC, giving them a larger majority.
The number and ability of the ruling party to control representation in the House of Representatives is insufficient. Out of the 358 members we now have, 243 make up the majority of the group. Therefore, it is impossible for them to just endorse someone while we stand by and do nothing. is not conceivable.
According to Gorau, all of the newly elected members of the House support Mukhtar Aliyu Betara as the new speaker and agree that he has made significant progress in his mobilization.
He asserts that Betara will become the next Speaker of the House with or without the APC’s support due to the sizeable minority and other members of the ruling party.
“We are all in agreement that Betara is our nominee and will be elected Speaker. We don’t want a robber stamp Speaker in the house, and we won’t vote for incompetent candidates. Whether they like it or not, Betara has what it takes to become Speaker, he said.
