Speakership aspirants attend Betara’s declaration

The G-4, a new group of members-elect of the 10th House of Representatives who are aspiring for the Office of the Speaker, on Monday, attended the official declaration of one of its members, Aliyu Betara.

Betara, who is Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, declared his speakership bid despite the 10th National Assembly leadership zoning plan that did not favour him.

Other members of the G-4 include the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase; Chairman of the House Committee on Water Resources, Sada Soli; and a former member of the House, Sani Jaji.

On his official Twitter account, @HonAhmedWase, the Deputy Speaker, tweeted photos from the event and wrote, “In line with the agreement reached during our meeting of group of four (Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris, Hon. Muktar Betara, Hon. Aminu Jaji and Hon. Sada Soli) where we unanimously agreed to grace each other’s flag-off, I attended the speakership declaration of my friend and brother, Hon. Mukhtar Betara, which took place at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.”

A few days ago, photographs had emerged showing the four members-elect seated at a table.

Wase is from Plateau State in the North-Central, Betara is from Borno State in the North-East, Soli is from Katsina State in the North-West, while Jaji is from Zamfara State also in the North-West.

However, the All Progressives Congress, on Monday, officially announced a former Minority Leader of the Senate and immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godwin Akpabio, from the South-South, as its consensus candidate for the position of President of the Senate.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Barau Jibrin, from the North-West, would be the new Deputy President of the Senate.

In House, the seat of Speaker was zoned to the North-West, with Tajudeen Abbas, as the consensus candidate.

The South-East clinched the slot of Deputy Speaker, with Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, emerging as the party’s candidate.

Also in attendance at Betara’s declaration were another speakership aspirant and Majority Leader of the House, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; and a member of the House and Governor-elect of Niger State, Mohammed Bago.

Bago had contested against the incumbent Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, who was the consensus candidate of the APC in 2019, but lost.