HOUSE OF REPS SPEAKERSHIP: Muhammed Bago To Bola Tinubu - Consider The Aspiration Of People From The North Central.

Bola Tinubu & Muhammed Bago.

One of the frontline contenders for the position of Speaker for the House of Representatives, and member representing the people of Chanchaga Federal Constituency in Niger State, Hon. Muhammed Bago has asked the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to critically consider the legitimate aspiration of the North Central and ensure that justice prevail.

Justifying the aspiration of the North Central, particularly Niger state for the position of the speaker of the House of Representatives, Bago cited that while the entire six states of the South-West gave the APC a total of 259, 780 margin of victory over the rival People’s Democratic Party in the presidential election, only Niger state – from where he hails from secured for the APC a margin of 394, 319 votes, thereby topping votes from the South-West by 134,539 votes.

In a statement issued by the campaign organization for the actualization of Hon. Bago’s desire to be Speaker of the House of Representatives, and signed by Victor Afam Ogene, Hon. Bago asked Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to show concern to the region where he comes from, especially as it concerns the leadership of the House of Representatives.

Hon. Bago says: I have perused through the statement released by the National Leader of our Party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, especially as it concerns the leadership of the House of Representatives, and wish to respectfully disagree with him on some of the conclusions therein.

For starters, even though he took extra care not to mention his choice candidate by name, the laborious attempt to pass off same desire as the onerous craving of  President Muhammadu Buhari clearly leaves his real intentions exposed and not too long ago, in 2015, when Tinubu tried to foist the same mentee of his as Speaker, in spite of the rational voices of caution by many stakeholders, many had been left wondering if the enforcement effort was at the instance of President Buhari and the Party.

Although he continued, a greater portion of the statement centred on his probable scheming for the 2023 Presidential election, real or imagined, our concern revolves around the oblique reference to loyalty as basis for his decision to stand by his adopted son as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives. It is on this score, and several other incontrovertible facts that we disagree with the position of our national leader.

It is our contention that nobody has the monopoly of loyalty. Put succinctly, it is not anyone’s exclusive preserve and no one is a custodian of it.

Indeed, the pursuit of equity and fairness in an enterprise where we are all stakeholders cannot vitiate our candidate’s long standing, earned reputation as a loyalist  of President Buhari, our party, the All Progressives Congress, and above all, the people of his constituency, his state, Niger, and the North central zone who have invested their trust in him to represent them and instead of seeking to pitch party faithful who seek their just due against the President, we rather expect Asiwaju Tinubu, as a father to all, to critically consider the legitimate aspiration of the North Central Zone and ensure that justice is done.

Hon. Bago goes further to expertiate.

For example, while the entire six states of the South-West gave our party a total of 259, 780 margin of victory over the rival People’s Democratic Party in the presidential election, only Niger State from where Hon. Mohammed Bago hail – secured for the APC a margin of win of 394, 319, thereby topping the South-West votes by 134,539 votes.

Wherein then lye the rationale for seeking to arrogate the Speakership position to the South-West, which by the way already has the country’s Vice Presidency in the kitty? As joint workers in the APC vineyard, the least that is expected is that every zone ought to be rewarded proportionately according to its work rate or contribution, we are, therefore, at a loss as to why a zone would be doubly rewarded, while the others watch helplessly like orphans.

These are the germane issues we expect our respected National Leader, Asiwaju Tinubu to seek resolution to and unless answers are provided to these nagging questions, anyone seeking to lead the House of Representatives ought be allowed to do so on his own merit.

Hon. Muhammed Bago from 2003 when he became a member of The Buhari Organization (TBO), to 2011 when he contested and won election into the House of Representatives on the platform of the defunct CPC, to 2015 and 2019 when he won re-election on the banner of the APC, Hon. Bago has remained has been a core Buharist, and any attempt to tar him with any brush of disloyalty cannot stick. Again, we restate that no one currently jostling for the Speaker’s position is more loyal to President Buhari than Muhammed Bago.