Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, member of the House of Representatives vying for the speaker’s seat of the 9th Assembly, has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) still had enough time to reverse its zoning of presiding officers’ positions.

This was as she called on the anointed choice of the party, Femi Gbajabiamila, to set aside his ambition by stepping down for her, for the purpose of equity and fairness.

The lawmaker stated this at her official declaration for the speakership race on Tuesday, in Abuja.

She said her desire to run was premised on the yearnings of the people of the South-East geopolitical zone and Nigerian women.

Recall that Gbajabiamila was at a presidential dinner on Tuesday last week announced as the anointed candidate for the post of speaker in the incoming Assembly.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is a good man who has promised to run an all-inclusive government that would carry the women along, whilst recognising the role of the youths in governance,” Onyejeocha said.

She said having stood for election and emerged victorious in a very difficult political terrain, Abia, a PDP-dominated state, spoke volume of her ability to build consensus across party lines to help the APC administration deliver its policies towards actualising its ‘Next Level’ agenda.

While noting that “Nigeria needs healing” with the current palpable fault lines and divisions, the chairman, House Committee on Aviation, said her emergence as speaker would enhance Nigeria’s unity as someone coming from a zone that has nothing in the current power sharing arrangement within the APC.

She added: “In 2015, they told us that the South East didn’t produce any senator to warrant it getting the Senate presidency.

“Those who came to the House were seen as lacking experience and ranking status, but this time around the situation is different and as such we should be recognised for flying our party’s flag high.

“Already, the North West and South West have taken the two most important positions in our national political leadership, and the Senate presidency has also been zoned to the North-East, so it’s only fair and proper that zones such as the South-East and South-South are considered for something, and that’s why I think the party still has time to retrace its steps by considering me for the position.”

Also speaking on the adoption of Femi Gbajabiamila as preferred candidate, the Abia-born third-termer in the House described the House majority leader as a “gentleman”, saying he should make sacrifices befitting of a good, selfless leader by putting the country first over and above self.

According to her, “Gbajabiamila is a complete gentleman who has been a minority leader and now a majority leader of the House.

“He should be able to tell the party that look, it’s not about me but about the unity of Nigeria, our country, for other zones to be considered.”

Such a sacrifice, according to her, “will go a long way to assuage agitated nerves who are asking for equity and fairness in the distribution of leadership positions in the APC-led Federal Government”.

The declaration on Tuesday put paid to speculation that the lawmaker who had been getting series of endorsements from different groups for weeks may have opted out of the race following Gbajabiamila’s adoption by the APC leadership.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Umar Bago, a contestant for the post of Speaker in the incoming 9th House of Representatives, has reiterated his determination to run the race to its logical conclusion.

The APC lawmaker from Niger State made the clarification on Tuesday following reports that his state chapter of the ruling party had thrown its weight behind his opponent, Femi Gbajabiamila, from Lagos.

In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Victor Afam Ogene, in Abuja, the Bago Campaign Organisation said: “Following persistent inquiries from members-elect, journalists, and members of the public, we wish to clarify that our speakership hopeful, Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago, is still very much in contention to lead the 9th House of Representatives, billed for inauguration in June, 2019.

“We denounce the scaremongering tactics of some persons who gleefully dish out falsehood to the effect that Hon. Bago has stepped down from the race so as to distract our campaign.

“Such insidious disposition, besides being malicious, untrue, and unbecoming has never really assisted anyone ascend an unmerited position.

“For the avoidance of any doubt, Hon. Bago is in the speakership race not merely driven by personal ambition, but instead propelled by the aspiration and quest of his people of the North Central zone for inclusiveness in governance.”

•Excerpted from an INDEPENDENT report.