Chairman of the Plateau Elders Forum, Ambassador Yahaya Kwande has urged the executive council (EXCO) members of the non-partisan organisation to call on the elected members of the House of Representatives, both old and new, to support a Plateau State candidate for the position of the speaker-ship in the green chamber of the National Assembly.
This was contained in a press release, signed by Nde Jonathan Ishaku, spokesman, Plateau Elders Forum, and made available to THE NIGERIA STANDARD recently in Jos.
The statement added that the two front-line candidates vying for the position in the North Central geopolitical zone are from Plateau State, namely, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, the out going Deputy Speaker, and Rt. Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi.
Each of the two candidates possesses unassailable credentials. As Deputy Speaker in the 9th Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase has served diligently using his long legislative experience and has deputised effectively for the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He said that on the other hand, Rt. Hon Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, on account of his legislative dexterity and skills has sponsored the highest number of bills by a member in a single first term, with six having been accented into law by the President.
Kwande noted that elders have maintained that apart from the resourcefulness of the Plateau State candidates, it is in the interest of fairness and justice that the state be allowed to lead the House. They contended that while the North West and the North East geopolitical zones have produced the Speaker four times and one time, respectively, the North Central has never produced one.
They argued that if the rumours making the rounds that the speaker-ship position has been zoned to the North West again, in addition to the Senate President position, are true it would be unfair to the North Central zone which would get nothing.
“In the interest of equity, therefore, we insist on zoning the speaker-ship to the North Central and particularly to Plateau State,” they declared.
Meanwhile, the elders have appealed to the two candidates to unite and allow only one of them to stand, arguing that doing so would brighten the chance of the state to get the position. They said this would be in the best interest of the state as both of them are high-quality candidates who have demonstrated that they both are great legislative assets to the nation.
