Battle for Reps Speaker: Onyejeocha asks Gbajabiamila to step down for her

Chidi Samuel|

Nkiru Onyejeocha, a female lawmaker from Abia state on Tuesday joined the race for the number one seat in the lower house of the national assembly as she called on Femi Gbajabiamila, the lawmaker from Lagos state to step down for her.

Ms Onyejeocha, a third term lawmaker representing Umunneochi federal constituency in Abia state made her intention known while briefing newsmen at the National Assembly.

Gbajabiamila was recently adopted by the ruling APC as its choice for the office of Speaker of the lower house.

But on Tuesday, while urging the party to have a rethink and zone the position to the South east, Onyejeocha also appealed to Gbajabiamila to ‘make due sacrifice’ by giving up his ambition to become speaker “for Nigeria to move forward.”

She said, “I respect my party chairman and what the party has said it intends to do. But I am appealing to them, it is not yet late to withdraw their decision and include a woman from the two geopolitical zones left out in 2015.

“I know that the leader of the house, Femi Gbajabiamila, is a good gentleman and good leader, but there is a time when any man who is a leader indeed to make the needed sacrifice and that time is now for the leader of my party in the House of Representatives.

“This opportunity comes only once when a leader will look at himself and say, ‘It’s not about me, it’s about Nigeria. I also believe that Nigeria needs healing and somebody has to pay the sacrifice for us to move to the next level, even if it means deciding that speakership should go to another zone.”

According to her, zoning the speakership to the South-east will address the “demand for equity” from the zone.

“As a woman who has distinguished herself and contributed immensely to the development of Nigeria, the APC should use the opportunity of my expression of interest in the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives to fulfil its promise to Nigerians, that it would increase women participation in the governance of the country.”

About seven members from the ruling party have, so far, indicated their intention to contest the position of Speaker in the 9th assembly.