The feud between members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Federal House of Representatives seems to be far from over as indications emerged on Saturday, July 4, 2015 that the lawmakers might disregard a plea by President Muhammamdu Buhari for the warring legislators to sheath their swords as both groups have failed to see eye to eye over the principal offices for the lower chambers.
According to Punch, the group of lawmakers loyal to the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, stuck to their position that the principal offices would be decided by the regional caucuses in the house while the group loyal to the party’s choice for the position, Femi Gbajabiamila remained adamant that the party’s choice must be adhered to.The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) had directed the party’s governors to resolve the issue, but the first sitting on Friday, July 3, 2015 failed to yield any positive result, with the marathon meeting continuing on Sunday, July 5, 2015.
A member of the Gbajabiamila group said: “We hope this will be a fruitful, peaceful meeting. We hope it will end it all. We are loyal party members and we stick to the decision of our party on the sharing of the principal offices; we don’t see how anybody will accept anything less.”
In contrast, a lawmaker in the Dogara group said: “We welcome the interest shown in this matter by our governors. It is a sign that they want this issue to be resolved quickly so that we can move ahead.
“The position has not changed, the speaker has made the point over and over again that since the South-West has produced the deputy speaker, it will be unfair to other zones to still give them the slot of majority leader.
“You also don’t expect the North-East, where the speaker comes from, to take additional slots.
“What about the other zones? Are they not stakeholders as well? Didn’t they contribute to the success of the APC?”
