Okwu: PDP Will Ultimately Decide the Next Speaker
Hon. Samson Okwu representing Oju/Obi Federal Constituency of Benue State under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says despite the All Progressive Congress (APC) zoning arrangement, lawmakers, specifically the now minority PDP caucus in the House of Repr
This is the second time you are coming to the House, people are now jostling for new leadership, what role will you and your party play in the emergence of the new leadership?
I want say that I have been in the National Assembly since 1999 as a staff and later a special assistant to two senate presidents and in 2011, I contested under the PDP and came to the House. If you remember there was struggle for leadership then and now the circumstances are different since we are in the minority. But I want to say it clearly that as minority we still have our numbers. We are about 142 members out of 360 and as minority, we are going to determine the leadership of the House of Representatives especially the Speaker. We are determined to do that and we want to do it in such a way that we will choose leaders that will have support across party lines and will also look out for the interest of the country and members. It is no longer about APC or PDP it is about the House of Representatives and what is happening is not a different thing. By the time the 8th House is inaugurated we are going to elect a Speaker of our choice.
The APC has not yet zoned the positions, does that mean that you in the PDP will also abide by the APC zoning formula?
Well, let me say this, let no one make a mistake, the House has a precedence and a scenario that happened in the House since 1999. The PDP then in 1999 wanted Salisu Buhari to become the Speaker, but he didn’t last because he was not the choice of the members. He lasted only two months and Ghali Na’Abba was elected. The same scenario played itself in 2003, the party wanted Hon. Matazu who was even a returning member but the members didn’t want him and the elected Hon. Aminu Bello Masari as Speaker. Similar thing happened in 2007 when Hon. Patricia Etteh was imposed on members, they accepted her but after four months they forced her out and Dimeji Bankole was elected. The same scenario or even more worse than the previous ones happened in 2011 when PDP tried to impose Hon. Mulikat Adeola-Akande and we didn’t want her. So we brought Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as our Speaker. If the party in power is thinking that things have changed, they will surely be proved wrong. It is not about the party, it is the attitude of the House of Representatives to always go its own way in choosing its leadership. If APC is thinking that members will abide by its zoning arrangement, the same scenario will play because we are all the same members and nothing has changed. It is not about party but about people. All along it is the House that has been playing progressive roles that Nigerians are happy with. We are going to do same thing, we will bring a Speaker that we want. We are not undermining any party but House of Representatives members will do what they want. Nobody should be deceived that the 2011 scenario won’t play itself again, it is a lie. Those who want to go and play cheaply to the public will say so but I am telling you today that members of the 8th Assembly will choose the Speaker of their choice irrespective of the zoning.
That is why I said that nobody should deceive Nigerians because it will be repeated. This is not the first time and it won’t be the last. I have given you the scenario and examples of what happened since 1999 that whenever the government anoints somebody members always go their own way. It will even happen now because when you decide to zone the Speakership to a zone for the purpose of one individual, the House will determine who will become the Speaker.
Are you saying that the PDP caucus will team up with some of your colleagues in the APC as Tambuwal did four years ago?
The House Rules has not changed. It is not about political party, it is about who will have the control of the House and lead us right and protect the interest of Nigerians and not that of his godfather. If the party anoints someone we don’t like, we won’t abide by their zoning more so that we have the number to determine that. The way Nigerians chose General Muhammadu Buhari to become the president we will also do that.
Who then are you supporting for the Speakership?
We are solidly behind Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Speaker. And we are determined to deliver him come June.
What are your reasons for supporting Dogara?
We want somebody who will rally all mem- bers behind him, Dogara is that person who will protect the interest of members and all Nigerians. He does not answer to any godfather. He doesn’t take weekly briefings from a godfather who lives hundreds of kilometers from Abuja like a puppet. Dogara look at the 359 constituencies as his own constituency. Invariably we are transferring the demands of our constituents to him and we know he is capable of shouldering the responsibilities of the office of the Speaker. We want somebody who will be a team a player as a Speaker and know what to do to protect and the relationship between the executive and the legislature. We don’t want somebody who will be a rubber stamp. We don’t want somebody that will be controlled by a godfather. This is a Federal House and not a State House of Assembly. We cannot allow anybody like that to emerge as Speaker. The APC leadership should be cautious of this fact because anything the party does to undermine Nigerians we will reject it.
Apart from your candidate there are so many contenders for the post, don’t you think members may not be able to come together to do what you are advocating?
Members already know who is the right person and they just waiting for time. That is why you are seeing a lot of endorsements for Dogara from different caucuses across the country. All of us who endorsed Dogara have voting rights in June and it cut across all political parties. But we in the PDP in particular will deliver bloc vote to Dogara.
Are you saying that the 142 PDP members will put their votes in one place?
Yes, we will vote as a bloc for one person that we want. The person who we have confidence in, and even the like-minds in the APC, irrespective of the party zoning, we are on the same page with them. Interest of Nigerians is above every personal interest and they too will vote in the same way. So anybody who tells Nigerians that what played out in 2011 won’t happen again, he/she is not being sincere.
What call do you have to the APC as a party?
I will advise them to listen carefully to the voice of members-elect and the present members in the House. They should take a lesson from what happened from 1999 to date. Most importantly when you allow members to choose their own Speaker, peace will rein and that person has a duty to respect the party and to also respect the government in power. They should allow members to choose the Speaker of their chose.
You are one of the members of North Central caucus who endorsed Dogara few days back and some of your members published advertorial in some national dailies contradicting it.. what actually happened?
Some people who will not be in the chamber in the next Assembly are said to have endorsed somebody but it is useless because they don’t have voting rights. We are the ones that will vote and not the outgoing members. Those who came out to condemn the endorsement are not members of 8th Assembly. They are not members of our caucus. Look at the list they are outgoing members of the House but the in-coming members have done their endorsement and they are the ones who have the voting right.
What advise do you have for your colleagues?
Well, I advise them that they should do what we use to do, we should leave up to our responsibility to choose a Speaker that will see to the collective interest of the House and collective interest of Nigerians. And a Speaker that will lead us very well as we have seen in Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal’s leadership. So we want somebody who will follow his footstep. We should not be tribalistic about this matter because we are building a Nigeria that will be one.