Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and one of the leading contenders for position of Speaker in the incoming 8th National Assembly, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the outgoing Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, is supporting his bid.
In a statement by chairman of the Gbajabiamila campaign organization, James Abiodun Faleke (APC, Lagos) yesterday, the Minority Leader said a recent statement credited to one of his supporters to the effect that Tambuwal was in support of another aspirant, Yakubu Dogara, could not be true.
An APC Rep member from Kaduna State, Rufai Madaki, had in a statement on Sunday said the purported support by Mr. Tambuwal for Mr. Dogara is suspicious and rooted in “selfish interest”.
However, Faleke in his statement said: “The attention of Femi Gbajabiamila Speakership Campaign Organisation has been drawn to a statement purportedly made by one of our honourable members to the effect that the incumbent Speaker, Rt. Hon Aminu Tambuwal, is supporting another candidate other than Femi Gbajabiamila.
“We hereby state categorically that in a democracy every member is entitled to their own opinion, however, as a secretariat we are of the strong opinion that Rt. Hon Aminu Tambuwal is purely interested in bequeathing a strong legacy in the House of Representatives, which our candidate, Femi Gbajabiamila represents.
“I can therefore confirm that Rt. Hon Aminu Tambuwal is strongly in support of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker of the 8th House of Representatives”.
Meanwhile, the Gbajabiamila Campaign Organisation has said that 179 out of the 213 APC Reps-elect from across the six geopolitical zones for the 8th Assembly have so far signed an endorsement register supporting the Minority Leader’s candidature.