…Youth group insists on Wase
The Conference of Nigerian Youths in Defence of Democracy (CNYDD) has insisted on the choice of the Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives in the outgoing 8th Assembly, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase as the speaker of the 9th Assembly.
This is despite the reported endorsement of the House Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila by the leadership of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
Addressing a joint press conference yesterday in Abuja, the group’s National Chairman, Comrade Adnan R. Ali; National Secretary, Comrade Baffo Umar; and Director of Media, Mr. Jibrin Danpullo, spoke in the philanthropic, selfless and detribalized Wase, who had been representing Wase Federal Constituency of Plateau State since 2007, with a track record of brilliant performance as a lawmaker.
According to them, unlike other human institutions, the leadership positions of both chambers of the National Assembly were somewhat “sacred and highly-revered and that the various principal officers posts, either in the green or red chamber ought not be for all comers.”
According to them, “For now, the number of those seeking to succeed Rt. Honourable Yakubu Dogara as speaker is immaterial when juxtaposed to the number of outstanding leadership qualities that must be possessed by any leader.
“While the competence, ability and integrity of some lawmakers who intends to contest for speakership have become subjects of public debate, the intimidating profile of Honourable Ahmed Idris Wase keep on rising like one bright star in a million galaxies,” they said.
They said Wase, as a faithful member of APC family in Plateau, had since raised the bar of servant-leadership, as could be seen in his numerous youths’ empowerment programmes, while also awarding contracts and solely financing the constructions of several beneficial infrastructural projects across his constituency.
They said, “In furtherance, Honourable Wase, who meritoriously served and is still serving as member of the House Committee on Emergency and Disaster, Environment, Area Councils, Capital Market, Poverty Alleviation, Housing and Habitat, Justice, and Public Petitions, among others, has also sponsored numerous bills and motions on the floor of the House.”
They therefore urged the APC National Working Committee (NWC) to have a re-think and zone the speakership to North-Central which had not produced the speaker since the advent of democracy in 1999.