The odds were in favour of Gbajabiamila to win the poll until the tables turned on him.
Dogara polled 182 votes out of the 358 total cast ballots to beat the former Minority Leader in the keenly-contested poll. Gbajabiamila scored 174 votes .
Two ballots were voided in the election which was also conducted under the watch of the National Assembly Clerk.
Gbajabiamila congratulated the new speaker moments after the results were announced by embracing him and shaking hands with him.
The chamber of the House erupted in jubilation immediately the results were declared.
The APC has 213 out of the 360 members of the House and the calculation of the Gbajabiamila camp was that their candidate needed a few votes from the PDP caucus and other smaller parties to coast to a straight victory.
Investigations showed that the North-West with the highest number of 87 APC members was Gbajabiamila’s main support base.
The zone was backed by the South-West with 48 members and the North-East, which has 36 members.
However, it was gathered that two major factors turned the tables on Gbajabiamila.
Findings indicated that many of the PDP members, who initially assured Gbajabiamila of their support, suddenly changed their minds and filed behind Dogara.
On his part, Dogara already had the backing of the majority of the 139 PDP members in the House. The last-minute directive of the minority party further strengthened his PDP support base.
“The second factor flowed from the first one; when Saraki, who is from the North-Central, won in the Senate, some of the APC members from the North-East and North-West made a U-turn to support Dogara.
“They suddenly realised that the North-East would be left with nothing substantial if they went ahead to elect Gbajabiamila.
When the reality of Gbajabiamila’s loss dawned on his supporters, a series of horse trading started for the position of Deputy Speaker.
Gbajabiamila’s running mate was Monguno, who is from the same zone as Dogara.
His supporters and many PDP members had attempted to drag Gbajabiamila into accepting to run as Dogara’s deputy, but he bluntly rejected the proposal.
On their part, the PDP members also attempted to advise Dogara’s original running mate, Yusuf Lasun, to step down for the former Deputy House Leader, Leo Ogor.
Ogor, a PDP member also fought off the pressure mounted on him by turning down the offer.
With the horse trading failing to yield the desired results, voting for Monguno and Lasun as contestants for the post of deputy speaker started around 5.50pm on Tuesday.
Lasun,who hails from Osun State, scored 203 votes to beat Monguna, who got 153 votes.
In his acceptance speech, Dogara promised to fight corruption in government and instil discipline in the management of public affairs.
He described his victory as a demonstration of the members’ determination to sustain the independence of the legislature as an arm of government.
The new speaker said, “What has been demonstrated here today, is the resolve of members of the House to assert the independence of the legislature as a co-equal arm of government.
“We have shown once again that this is a House of the Nigerian people.”
He praised Gbajabiamaila for putting up a dogged fight, assuring him that they would both work together to heal any divisions caused in the House by the contest.
Dogara said, “I salute the doggedness and service of Gbajabiamila, who fought a good fight and who has served this House and the nation with distinction.
“Together, we will heal the wounds and divisions of this contest. Together we shall work to deliver good legislation and good government to our people.”
Meanwhile, the immediate-past Speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwal, has congratulated Saraki, Ekweremadu, Dogara and Lasun for emerging victorious.
Tambuwal, who is now the Governor of Sokoto State, commended members of the National Assembly for the “maturity” they displayed during the elections.
Stop whining, PDP tells APC leadership
But the PDP whose members made the emergence of Saraki and Dogara possible, congratulated the new leaders of the National Assembly, saying their elections underscored the fact that no section of the country should be neglected in national issues.
The PDP added in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, that the development in both chambers of the National Assembly was “victory for democracy.”
It therefore urged the APC leadership to stop “whining and accept the will of the people, respect the independence of the legislature because it was not responsible for their (APC leaders) naivety and crass inexperience.”
The statement read, “What is paramount to the PDP is the sustenance of our democracy and the wellbeing of our people, irrespective of creed, class or ethnicity.
“The PDP is therefore willing and ready to partner like-minded individuals in other political parties and groups to sustain our democracy, ensure good governance and promote the unity and stability of our dear nation. Nigeria as a nation belongs to all of us. Its interest therefore must be put over and above personal, partisan or group interests at all times.
“In this regard, the PDP notes with gratitude, the immense contributions of the immediate past Senate President ‘the Baba of the National Assembly’, Senator David Mark, for the decency and mature manner with which he ensured the smooth take- off of the 8th National Assembly.”
The PDP had in a statement on Tuesday morning said it had adopted Saraki and Dogara for the position of Senate President and Speaker respectively. It therefore urged its National Assembly members to act accordingly by voting the two men.
Four out of the 22 APC governors had met on Monday night at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja to find a means of dousing the tension generated by the contest for the Assembly’s top posts.
The four governor were Rochas Okorocha(Imo), Nasir el-Rufai(Kaduna), Samuel Ortom(Benue) and Abubakar Bello(Niger).
After about 30 minutes, the four governors headed for the Transcorp Hilton Hotel where they met with the lawmakers from their respective states .
Also Gbajiamila held an enlarged meeting with the various state caucuses of the party in the House at the Lagos Hall of the hotel.
Gbajabiamila was spotted wearing a red Kwanwasiya traditional cap apparently to sell himself to the North-West caucus.
No comments:
Post a Comment