The Fedderal House of Representatives on Thursday, April 30, 2015 declared that it will hold its first ever public debate for the contenders who are gunning to become the Speaker of the House.
The debate is to be conducted under the aegis of a group called ‘The Patriots’
The convener of ‘The Patriots’ Musa Sarkin Ada (All Progressives Congress, Sokoto), announced that his group would conduct an integrity test among the various contenders for the speaker’s seat in order to have the best out of them.
He stated that they would focus on the ‘quality of candidates as opposed to business-as-usual,’ stressing that they do not have any candidate in mind ‘because we do not want to place the cart before the horse.’
He further added: ‘We are more interested in setting the parameters, principles, vision, mission, quality and commitment of those who aspire to lead us, as opposed to supporting individuals in return for sharing spoils of office.
‘For the above to happen, The Patriots intend to conduct an integrity test for interested candidates wishing to contest leadership positions of the House by way of open, televised debate that will provide an opportunity to scrutinise their credentials.’
when questioned if the All Progressives Congress was still maintaining their stand on the zoning arrangement of the party on key positions in the House,
Sarkin Ada said it was imperative for the APC to go with the mood of the House, considering how speakers had emerged in the past.
He said the group, which consists of members-elect from across different political parties, would only be concerned about credibility and urged the APC to respect their wishes in the end.
