Except the unexpected happens, the National Assembly is primed for a battle royale as the 10th Assembly is inaugurated today.
After weeks of power play, horse-trading, alignments and realignments, former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, will contest for the Senate presidency.
In the House of Representatives, Mr. Tajudeen Abass will slug it out with immediate past deputy speaker, Idris Wase, for the speakership.
Akpabio and Abass are the candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, National Working Committee, NWC, for the two top legislative slots. To deputise them are Senator Jibrin Barau and Rep Benjamin Kalu.
A host of aspirants kicked against the party’s choice, which has the backing of President Bola Tinubu. In the Senate, those who kicked included Senators Orji Uzor Kalu, Osita Izunaso and Yari. And in the House of Representatives, a group of lawmakers, known as G-7, opposed the move.
At press time, the bulk of the G-7 had made a U-turn to support Abass, leaving Wase as the last man standing.
At the valedictory session of the 9th House on Wednesday, Wase declared that his speakership ambition was premised on a prophetic utterance of his late political leader and former governor of Plateau State, Chief Solomon Lar.
“Of course, I want to appreciate my political leaders, among whom I would say was Solomon Lar who, when I was contesting in 2007, I went to him and he prophesied the number of times I will come to this Assembly and the number of leadership positions that I will attain, even the deputy speakership and he prophesied that when next I return, and I believe, I will be Speaker and I believe that Insha Allah, I will be the Speaker of the Green Chamber”, Wase declared.