By our correspondent
As the race for the speakership position of the 10th House of Representatives continues to gather momentum, the spokesperson for the Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, Ikenga Ugochinyere Imo has endorsed the pair of Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and Hon. Benjamin Kalu as speaker and deputy speaker respectively.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Ikenga Imo who isw a member-elect to represent Ideato Federal Constituency of Imo state therefore called on other candidates in the race who were banking on opposition votes to stage a rebellion against the Tajudeen Abbas/Benjamin Kalu ticket to withdraw from the race “as the opposition votes they were banking on would no longer be available for them.”
“It is on this note that I call on my fellow colleague members-elect who are still in the race to stop and join the prefect of the class, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas to steer the ship of the 10th Assembly to beat the records of the other Houses in performance and achievement for Nigeria.
“The reason I say this is because the opposition party members’ votes which they are relying on for their anticipated rebellion is no longer available to them. Our common goal now should be beyond party and partisan politics and totally focused on Nigeria and her greater good. We want the best and we have selected the best and importantly, the selection is by merit.
“I do not speak for myself alone. I speak for the 63 likeminded Honourable members-elect of the opposition family who have agreed on a common vision for the 10th Assembly. We will transform to the TBK Group. Our 63 votes without any dissent or abstention will go for Hon. Tajudeen Abbas. In the coming days, Nigerians will come to know the identity of the TBK Group and will also feel our impact”, he said.
The federal lawmaker-elect also analyzed the background of Hon Abbas and Hon. Kalu stating “I have taken time to show that the man I chose to project has a history. He did not just come from nowhere, like we say in Nigeria. His track record shows a man with focus who believes in hard work and is humble.”
“He is not a money miss road politician, his background is not doubtful and to the extent the eyes of man can see, he is clean. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas possesses all the needed qualities to be the next Speaker of the 10th Assembly. He is enviably educated, has a Doctorate Degree and eminently and vastly experienced to preside over the affairs of the House.
“He is highly resourceful and is manifestly of unblemished integrity which has earned him respect amongst our colleagues at the National Assembly and obviously his Party”, he added.
Furthermore he stated that with 43 Bills in the 8th Assembly, Hon Abbas had the 3rd highest number of Bills but with 74 Bills in the 9th Assembly, he was the lawmaker with the highest number of Bills and that 21 of those Bills have been signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“From available records, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has won several back-to-back awards as the Best Performing House of Representatives member for several years. Above all, he sponsored 43 Bills and 13 Motions in the 8th Assembly which was the 3rd highest number of Bills from any member.
“In the 9th Assembly, he equally sponsored 74 Bills and 7 Motions which turned out to be the highest by any member in the House. Interestingly, 21 of the Bills he sponsored have been assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I did not come to this decision easily neither did I reach it in support of the zoning by the APC. In fact, I would have ordinarily been in the forefront of opposition to it. However, if they had not chosen Tajudeen Abbas, I would have chosen him and supported him. Sincerely, I had chosen him and when coincidentally the APC announced him as the choice of the Party I was in a dilemma and was tempted to move my support to another person.
“But on further introspection, I came to the conclusion that abandoning TJ Abbas for the fact that APC also chose him would have amounted to playing politics with the competence, capacity and character.
“I advised myself and I am happy I did. This is the time for national development, growth and stability and not the time for party politics.” He further called on the APC not to do anything that will tarnish the character of Hon. Abbas or the independence of the House”, he added.
He finally stated that controversy that the House Rules were tampered with were not true stating that the House Rules were last printed in December 2020 and not after the 2023 election and by the Rules the election will be by open ballot system.