While everyone is demanding that the position of Speaker be "zoned" to them , for one reason or the other, the ACN is insisting that merit should carry the day - even if that means the SW loses out. The folks of the SW can only be optimistic about the future with a Party of progressive minds in charge of affairs. Refreshingly sane outlook from the ACN while the rest of Nigeria squabbles , "do or die", like juvenile children . 

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5701162-146/opposition_mounts_against_south-west_speaker_bid.csp

Meanwhile, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) caucus in the House has opposed the zoning of the presiding offices in the National Assembly.

Leader of the caucus, Femi Gbajabiamila, in a telephone interview last night, said it was even wrong to zone an exalted position to three people. He also argued that since the president of the country and the chief justice of Nigeria, did not emerge through zoning, it was wrong to zone the offices in the National Assembly.

"I have never been an advocate of zoning and so if you say you are zoning the speakership to the south-west, it is a misnomer," Mr Gbajabiamila said. "Merit should not be sacrifice at the altar of zoning. I don't have a problem with somebody from south-west being speaker but we will not sacrifice merit at the altar of zoning."

beautiful. Nigeria will be a better place if all and sundry think this way! This is political sophistication!

Thats how Nigeria thrives.

Bishopking:

beautiful. Nigeria will be a better place if all and sundry think this way! This is political sophistication!

Indeed . Only recently , Tinubu was passionately arguing for federalism and devolution of power away from the centre as a way to end the sort of shameless "do or die" clamour for federal offices and positions we are now seeing today where merit is always relegated to the background.  

With the leader of the ACN caucus in the lower house speaking in consonant with Tinubu , it is obvious that the ACN differs from the PDP as per the calibre of individuals the respective Parties attract - especially in regards to ideological soundness and steadfastness .  

What is for sure is that we cannot keep doing things the same way and expecting a different outcome.

Crap.

Unfortunately, this thread is just another fairytale. ACN has been doing backdoor deals with PDP:

[size=14pt]Zoning: ACN, PDP unite in search of Speaker •Main contenders shift lobby to venues of NASS retreat •As Sambo parleys Reps-elect, sells Jonathan’s new agenda [/size]
Written by Taiwo Adisa and Idowu Samuel, Abuja Monday, 16 May 2011

THE battle for the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives in the next National Assembly has taken an interesting turn

in the South-West, following a series of ongoing consultations among members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the zone.

The PDP had zoned the Speaker position to the South-West in line with the zoning pattern it instituted in 2007.

Though the PDP failed to make much impact in the South-West in the 2011 elections, five of its members were elected into the House of Representatives from the South-West zone. Three of the five are ranking members who could vie for the top position in the House of Representatives.

The ACN, which won a majority of the Reps’ seats in the South-West has 70 members in the House in the incoming session of the National Assembly.

Although the PDP has a majority of the 360 members in the House of Representatives, winning 162 seats, whoever will win the Speaker seat must talk to and win votes of members of the opposition parties.

Sources confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune that the leadership of ACN in the zone appeared to have bought into the quest by the South-West PDP to produce the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.

It was said that there had been some consultative meetings between members of the PDP and the ACN in recent weeks.

One of the leading contenders for the Speaker seat, Honourable Muraina Ajibola, was said to have met with some top ACN leaders last week.

A source told the Nigerian Tribune that the opposition understood the advantage of returning the Speaker position in the zone. Even if the candidate would not be a member of the ACN, it would be beneficial to the larger interest of the South-West.

“I can tell you that the leadership of ACN is convinced that the zoning pattern of the PDP, which favours the South-West producing the Speaker, was not misplaced. The leadership feels that the zone as an important component of the country should be carried along, notwithstanding the inadequacies of the PDP. The party is not opposed to the South-West producing the Speaker and the ACN might just deploy its numbers and goodwill in favour of a preferred candidate,” a source told the Nigerian Tribune.

Horse trading over the position of the Speaker intensified at the weekend with the South-West PDP throwing its weight behind Honourable Ajibola.

But another ranking member, Alhaja Mulikat Adeola, has also been meeting with stakeholders and has sustained her intention to vie for the House’s top Job.

The main contenders have, however, shifted the lobbying sessions to the six venues of the National Assembly retreat for members-elect which took off on Sunday. Sources said that the PDP was trying all options to ensure unity of purpose in the election of the principal officers of the two chambers of the National Assembly.

A source said that the party believed that zoning of party offices was crucial in its arrangement and that it would not allow any of its members truncate the arrangement put in place for 2011 to 2015 so as not to open the party to further challenges.

Meanwhile Vice-President Namadi Sambo has said the new government to be formed by President Goodluck Jonathan would return Nigeria to its glory days, in which the country would emerge as one of the most developed in the comity of nations.

Jonathan, he said, would run a fair and just administration which would not glorify an ethnic group above the other, while all the elements of governance, according to him, would be geared towards the re-awakening of Nigeria as a great country.

Sambo made this known at the Transcorp Hotel, Abuja, during a parley with a group of House of Representatives members-elect drawn from all geopolitical zones.

He urged them to develop the mindset of playing great roles in the task of transforming Nigeria, in line with the dream of the government.

The new members had held a caucus meeting on selection of the next set of leaders in the House of Representatives and had invited the vice-president and a speakership hopeful as special guests.

Sambo commended the initiative of the lawmakers-elect, urging them to shun primordial sentiment in the task of electing new set of leaders in the House.

He promised the full cooperation of the presidency with the emerging legislative House.

Meanwhile, the South-West caucus of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has formerlly notified President Jonathan and the national headquarters of the party on its standpoint on the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives already zoned to the South-West.

The caucus told the president that it acted in line with the resolve of the extended national caucus of the PDP that the position of speaker of the House of Representatives be zoned to the South-West.

The caucus, in a memo to the president, dated May 13, 2011, said it had met and resolved to support Honourable Muraina Ajibola for the post, adding that it arrived at the decisions after debate by leading members of the party in the zone.

According to the memo signed by Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, the caucus said its intervention became necessary, in order to guide the process of emergence of the next speaker from the zone in a manner that would generate the confidence of every stakeholder.

“Your Excellency will recall that at the extended national caucus meeting of our party at Abuja, on May 10, 2001, the position of speaker of the House of Representatives was zoned to the South-West.

“This issue was discussed extensively at the zonal caucus of our party held on May 12, 2011 at the Hilltop Mansion, Abeokuta, Ogun State and it was decided that the South-West will support the nomination of Honourable Muraina Ajibola representing Igboora/Ibarapa federal constituency for the position of speaker,” the memo read.

Attendance at the meeting included the former president, Chief Olu-segun Obasanjo; Alhaji Oladipo; Oyo State governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala; former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; former governor of Ekiti State, Chief Olusegun Oni and former governor of Ondo State, Chief Olu-segun Agagu.

Others were Elder Joju Fadairo; Senator Kola Bajomo; Dr Femi Majeko-dunmi; Chief Dejo Afo-labi; Chief Adepegba Otemolu; Alhaji Fagun-wa Kayode; Chief Yemi Farounbi; Honourable Olatunji Odeyemi; Chief Dele Okeya; Chief Paul Afolabi and Ayorinde Oluwayemi.

Also at the meeting were Alhaji Michael Adegbite; Alhaji Busari Akanbi; Prince Adeto-kunbo Kayode; Dr Tayo Dairo; Chief S. A. Ola-dunni; Honourable Da-mola Ijabiyi; Chief Tunde Daramola, Chief R.B.A. Jafojo and Dr Ade Dosunmu.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/21995-zoning-acn-pdp-unite-in-search-of-speaker-main-contenders-shift-lobby-to-venues-of-nass-retreat-as-sambo-parleys-reps-elect-sells-jonathans-new-agenda

''The ACN, which won a majority of the
Reps ’ seats in the South-West has 70
members in the House in the incoming
session of the National Assembly.
Although the PDP has a majority of the
360 members in the House of
Representatives, winning 162 seats,
whoever will win the Speaker seat
must talk to and win votes of members
of the opposition parties.''. . . . . . u didnt see this from ur post?

Beaf:

Crap.

Unfortunately, this thread is just another fairytale. ACN has been doing backdoor deals with PDP:

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/21995-zoning-acn-pdp-unite-in-search-of-speaker-main-contenders-shift-lobby-to-venues-of-nass-retreat-as-sambo-parleys-reps-elect-sells-jonathans-new-agenda

So we are to give more credibility to a speculative article as support for the idea of "backdoor deals" and clandestine "underground" partnering/alliances , knowing fully well those abound in Nigeria , ahead of the utterance of the ACN caucus leader in the lower house ? in any case , is the PDP , even with it's majority, not duty bound to try and seek the votes of minority reps transparently , as is allowed ? One has to wonder why some folks , when the ACN is mentioned, automatically speak of "backdoor deals" and double-dealing as if there is no democratic civility at all in Nigerian politics.

It is amazing anyone with a logical mind can proffer that we use unfounded speculation, thrown around carelessly in Nigeria ,  against the direct utterance of an influential stakeholder. If this thread is a "fairytale" then I wonder what the article supplied to discredit it should be deemed as if not speculative garbage .

Dotman01:

''The ACN, which won a majority of the
Reps ’ seats in the South-West has 70
members in the House in the incoming
session of the National Assembly.
Although the PDP has a majority of the
360 members in the House of
Representatives, winning 162 seats,
whoever will win the Speaker seat
must talk to and win votes of members
of the opposition parties.''. . . . . . u didnt see this from your post?

Abeg don't mind him. For some folks , the mere mention of ACN is enough for them to 'conveniently' forget essential tenets of democracy  so that they can begin talking about "backdoor deals" . All driven by an agenda to discredit others. The PDP have the majority in the lower house yet its contenders for the Speaker position should try and gain the support of others to include the ACN. That is what is happening rather than the idea of "underground" dealing some are touting . The ACN caucus leader is therefore entitled to say they prefer to pitch their support based on merit.

Is Beaf defending PDP? I thought he was only for GEJ not PDP? ACN is the only party in Nigeria with clear cut ideas and ideologies. The plan for the next 50 years is already on ground. That is why every leader of ACN will never disagree on important issues when you meet them separately. It is entrench in the parties ideology which is above any member.

Is there any reason not to acquire the speakership if possible, though?

I don't see how it hurts the zone for us to have it, even if it is held by a PDP guy.

ekt_bear:

Is there any reason not to acquire the speakership if possible, though?

I don't see how it hurts the zone for us to have it, even if it is held by a PDP guy.

Non at all and indeed Mr. Gbajabiamila makes this clear:

" Mr Gbajabiamila said. "Merit should not be sacrifice at the altar of zoning. I don't have a problem with somebody from south-west being speaker but we will not sacrifice merit at the altar of zoning."

What is on display is the ideological soundness of the ACN members. The thinking is that we do not want the Speaker for the sake of it ala Bankole . Let the Speaker be the candidate able to do the job best for the benefit of Nigeria. If that person is from the South West then that is fine. If not , that is fine too as long as the lower house gains the best speaker possible.  No "do or die" insistence.

Fair enough. I hope hope that the ACN recognizes the value in having a house speaker from the SW, even if the guy/gal is PDP. Better us than the SE or North.

And how will we (I guess Nigerians as a whole) be able to identify who is most capable for the job? If it were use merit as the criterion?

Keep in mind that they have that rule that disallows freshman house reps, iirc. Which is an anti-merit policy.

Seeing the billions Bank-Ole squandered as the speaker , i can understand why people want to kill themselves to become speaker. This useless ideology of zoning is just an ingredient or catalyst for perpetual mediocrity in governance. The speaker is zoned to SW and we have to choose between Ajibola an OBJ stooge or Adeola , a lady even her fellow rep dont know well neither have we seen any major contribution from her on the floor of the house.

Why should speakership be decided outside the floor of the house. From my understanding ACN has 70 seats, CPC about 50 seats and ANPP 20 seats. If the oppostion come together and seek the support of some disgruntled PDP reps, a speaker could emerge from the opposition.

Why do we not think outside the box, at least even if the opposition does not win , there will be a good election and merit might prevail.

ekt_bear:

Fair enough. I hope hope that the ACN recognizes the value in having a house speaker from the SW, even if the guy/gal is PDP. Better us than the SE or North.

And how will we (I guess Nigerians as a whole) be able to identify who is most capable for the job? If it were use merit as the criterion?

Keep in mind that they have that rule that disallows freshman house reps, iirc. Which is an anti-merit policy.

The rule does not exist in the house as far as i know, it only exists in the senate through some back door manouvering by David Mark and his gangs

^-- I see, thanks for clarifying.

But if I'm reading things correctly, CPC and ANPP are subsuming their voices into the "Northern caucus."

So if we destroy zoning, then since the northern bloc outnumbers the southern block, doesn't they effectively mean they'll close ranks behind another northerner to get the spot?

Lagosboy:

Seeing the billions Bank-Ole squandered as the speaker , i can understand why people want to kill themselves to become speaker. This useless ideology of zoning is just an ingredient or catalyst for perpetual mediocrity in governance. The speaker is zoned to SW and we have to choose between Ajibola an OBJ stooge or Adeola , a lady even her fellow rep dont know well neither have we seen any major contribution from her on the floor of the house.

Why should speakership be decided outside the floor of the house. From my understanding ACN has 70 seats, CPC about 50 seats and ANPP 20 seats. If the oppostion come together and seek the support of some disgruntled PDP reps, a speaker could emerge from the opposition.

Why do we not think outside the box, at least even if the opposition does not win , there will be a good election and merit might prevail.

Thank you . I understand that Ajibola is unashamedly pro-OBJ to the point of unscrupulousness . His most active period in the house , according to others , was when he tried to move heaven and earth to scuttle the investigation of the NIPP scheme under OBJ . Another Etteh if you ask me .

ekt_bear:

Fair enough. I hope hope that the ACN recognizes the value in having a house speaker from the SW, even if the guy/gal is PDP. Better us than the SE or North.

[b]And how will we (I guess Nigerians as a whole) be able to identify who is most capable for the job? [/b]If it were use merit as the criterion?

Keep in mind that they have that rule that disallows freshman house reps, iirc. Which is an anti-merit policy.

There is no "we" at play here . Ordinary Nigerians , like you and me, can only hope that the Reps themselves choose the individual they recognise to be talented enough to move the House forward productively for Nigeria's sake . This is why there has to be consistency of ideology in Nigerian politics . We can't say one thing today only to do another tomorrow . If this is done there will be more integrity and transparency everywhere instead of the silly horse-trading we are seeing .

ziccoit:

Is Beaf defending PDP? I thought he was only for GEJ not PDP? ACN is the only party in Nigeria with clear cut ideas and ideologies. The plan for the next 50 years is already on ground. That is why every leader of ACN will never disagree on important issues when you meet them separately. It is entrench in the parties ideology which is above any member.

Don't be silly. Gbawe is a known rumour monger and starter, a man with his head fully in the clouds and chtting hubris 24/7.
All parties will do stuff to get power, and thats what PDP and ACN have been meeting about.

Lol. Gbawe's pet project is to set up a shrine to worship Tinubu the drug baron.

Beaf:

Don't be silly. Gbawe is a known rumour monger and starter, a man with his head fully in the clouds and chtting hubris 24/7.
All parties will do stuff to get power, and thats what PDP and ACN have been meeting about.

Lol. Gbawe's pet project is to set up a shrine to worship Tinubu the drug baron.

you are a very silly person, i tell u

very very silly

@Ekt-bear. Clearly , from below , it would seem the SW should hope the apparently highly indolent and dishonest Ajibola does not become speaker. I would rather not have our name tainted with disgrace as was the case with bankole. This is my consistent argument about the PDP being proven here vividly. I have always said the PDP attracts criminals and mediocrities . Now that the SW has to choose from the small number of PDP reps , for the position of speaker, it is glaringly exposed that , for one reason or the other, they are all not suitable or accepted by their peers. I would prefer for the Speaker to go to another zone , if the zone has the best candidate for the job , than for the SW to produce another disgraceful speaker in the mould of Bankole.

http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=33791&print=1

South West may lose speakership over Obasanjo’s interest in Muraina

•As Senate South East caucus endorses Mark, Ekweremadu



By Adetutu Folasade-Koyi (Abuja) and Austin Obo (Lagos)


Endorsement of the political god-son of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, by the South West caucus in the House of Representatives as its candidate for the office of speaker might cost the zone its chance of occupying the plum office in the incoming parliament, going by emerging feelers from the National Assembly over the weekend.

Ajibola Muraina, who was handpicked by Obasanjo for the office in the incoming House was on Friday night formally adopted by the South West caucus, a development which has triggered unsavory reactions from a cross section of federal lawmakers.

A source who pleaded anonymity disclosed that Muraina does not enjoy the support of other cognate federal lawmakers who described him “an indolent member of the House.”

The source recalled that his only contribution to House proceedings in the past four years was to frustrate the probe of the power sector contracts under the Obasanjo administration.

According to the source, Muraina who caused a stir during the power probe by insisting that the defunct House Committee on Power lacked the powers to summon Obasanjo to explain his role in the controversial award of $16 billion contract without commensurate results, had neither successfully sponsored a motion nor introduced any Bill since he was elected into the federal legislature four years ago.

Some of the federal lawmakers who described Muraina, an ally of the late Ibadan political strongman, Chief Lamidi Adedibu, as pliable, feared that Obasanjo through him, desires to have a firm control of the federal legislature to give him (Obasanjo) relevance in the affairs of the PDP having suffered political defeat in his Ogun State home base.

Obasanjo’s daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, and other candidates sponsored by the former president were roundly defeated in the last polls in Ogun State by the Action Congress of Nigeria, wiping out the ex-president’s political influence in the state.

It was gathered that although Muraina had attempted to elicit the support of some of his colleagues to actualise his ambition, there are fears that besides his alleged incompetence, he would “play a stooge of the former president”.

In a related development, the Senate South-East caucus of the National Assembly led by Uche Chukwumerije on Saturday endorsed the retention of incumbents Senate President David Mark and his deputy Ike Ekeremadu for the next session.

The caucus insisted that the position of National chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) be returned to the zone, if the subsisting zoning system of the party is anything to hold onto.

Addressing a press conference which lasted barely five minutes, the South East Senate caucus affirmed it would also support the re-elections of the Senate President David Mark and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu as presiding officers of the Senate for the next four years.

Gbawe:

So we are to give more credibility to a speculative article as support for the idea of "backdoor deals" and clandestine "underground" partnering/alliances , knowing fully well those abound in Nigeria , ahead of the utterance of the ACN caucus leader in the lower house ? in any case , is the PDP , even with it's majority, not duty bound to try and seek the votes of minority reps transparently , as is allowed? One has to wonder why some folks , when the ACN is mentioned, automatically speak of "backdoor deals" and double-dealing as if there is no democratic civility at all in Nigerian politics.

It is amazing anyone with a logical mind can proffer that we use unfounded speculation, thrown around carelessly in Nigeria,  against the direct utterance of an influential stakeholder. If this thread is a "fairytale" then I wonder what the article supplied to discredit it should be deemed as if not speculative garbage .

Does influential stakeholder mean accomplice to a drug baron? Or one who serves under a drug baron with a "University of Toronto degree?"

Gbawe:

There is no "we" at play here . Ordinary Nigerians , like you and me, can only hope that the Reps themselves choose the individual they recognise to be talented enough to move the House forward productively for Nigeria's sake . This is why there has to be consistency of ideology in Nigerian politics . We can't say one thing today only to do another tomorrow . If this is done there will be more integrity and transparency everywhere instead of the silly horse-trading we are seeing .

I just wonder if this will actually work. Why won't a majority block simply allocate all the positions to their members? How will an ideology of "merit" not just end up being "sectional majority gets nearly everything?"

Basically, how do you force/encourage them to choose the best, rather than to work for selfish/sectional interests?


Also, I encourage you to ignore the maggot polluting this thread.

Gbawe, so now SW does not want the speaker seat


hmmmmmm, so why they hype before ?

it seems like obj wanted to just test whether he still has power by the speaker position or maybe he just wanted it to be zoned to the SW then he would chose his boy boy from any zone. so long as it is his decision

Gbawe:

@Ekt-bear. Clearly , from below , it would seem the SW should hope the apparently highly indolent and dishonest Ajibola does not become speaker. I would rather not have our name tainted with disgrace as was the case with bankole.

http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=33791&print=1

Reading through that, I'm a bit disappointed with OBJ. Why does he always pally around with incompetents and sycophants in the SW? Bleh, very annoying.

ziccoit:

Is Beaf defending PDP? I thought he was only for GEJ not PDP?

LOL

ekt_bear:

^-- I see, thanks for clarifying.

But if I'm reading things correctly, CPC and ANPP are subsuming their voices into the "Northern caucus."

Let them subsume their voice, it's Nigerian politics. On this issue ACN will score a strategic point by standing out as a party that values merit(whatever that means in this case) and due process, they have only 70 votes they won't influence nothing. But they create another public impression and open up future alliance opportunities.

If you are worried about a PDP retaliation, mind you politics is about give and take, there will be other opportunities to side with PDP, as long as they know when to oppose or support they will be fine. I say oppose this time around or at best, stand aloof and make a public show of it. It sends a message to future PDP or CPC factions.

What is the benefit of a Senate leader handpicked by OBJ and GEJ anyway? As opposed to one who owes his office to an ACN alliance(if they can influence that) I say oppose it jare, and make some noise about your opposition.

alj_harem:

Gbawe, so now SW does not want the speaker seat


hmmmmmm, so why they hype before ?

it seems like obj wanted to just test whether he still has power by the speaker position or maybe he just wanted it to be zoned to the SW then he would chose his boy boy from any zone. so long as it is his decision

My brother , the ball is in the Court of the PDP and OBJ . It is OBJ and SW PDP , not the SW , who desperately wants the Position.  OBJ is busy banging tables violently while insisting to his fellow PDP stakeholders that the SW PDP must produce the Speaker. As usual , this is about OBJ's selfish interest and his desire to control , as much as possible, the top 4 Nigerians. I.e President, VP, Senate President and Speaker of the lower house.

Ajibola is an unapologetic OBJ disciple . As is usual , and because the PDP is a Party of criminals and mediocre politicians, there is now only rubbish available to pick from as per the PDP Reps who can vie for the office of Speaker. The ACN caucus leader is therefore right to speak as he does . It is a tacit warning that it might be better for the SW not to gain the Speaker position than for us to recieve it via an imposition of OBJ who is ostensibly a poor legislator resented by his colleagues .  I would rather not have a speaker from the SW than gain another bankole who , in 4 years, will be deemed a disgrace to the SW region.

Lol! Imagine a holy party led by a drug baron with a "Toronto" degree!!!

Wonders!

. . .Fairy tales and magic mushrooms!
Sirs, there is madness in your methods.

Kilode?!:

LOL
Let them subsume their voice, it's Nigerian politics. On this issue ACN will score a strategic point by standing out as a party that values merit(whatever that means in this case) and due process, they have only 70 votes they won't influence nothing. But they create another public impression and open up future alliance opportunities.

If you are worried about a PDP retaliation, mind you politics is about give and take, there will be other opportunities to side with PDP, as long as they know when to oppose or support they will be fine. I say oppose this time around or at best, stand aloof and make a public show if it. It sends a message to future PDP or CPC factions.

I just wonder if it is worth sacrificing the speaker's position for a strategic point. I'd rather sacrifice it for something concrete and tangible. How do we know any of these other factions even value ideology anyway? If they don't, then we've given away something valuable for free.

I hope you see my point, right? This ACN ideology of merit will not work in a Nigerian setting. So if you use merit to screw your own zone out of something useful, you had damn sure be getting something back in return. Rather than giving away that useful thing for free.

Gbawe:

My brother , the ball is in the Court of the PDP and OBJ . It is OBJ and SW PDP , not the SW , who wants the Position for one of his South West PDP cronies .  Ajibola is an unapologetic OBJ disciple . As is usual , and because the PDP is a Party of criminals and mediocre politicians, there is now only rubbish available to pick from as per the PDP Reps who can vie for the office of Speaker. The ACN caucus leader is therefore right to speak as he does . It is a tacit warning that it might be better for the SW not to gain the Speaker position than for us to recieve it via an imposition of OBJ who is ostensibly a poor legislator resented by his colleagues .  I would rather not have a speaker from the SW than gain another bankole who , in 4 years, will be deemed a disgrace to the SW region.

okay, it is quite interesting

Kilode?!:

LOL
Let them subsume their voice, it's Nigerian politics. On this issue ACN will score a strategic point by standing out as a party that values merit(whatever that means in this case) and due process, they have only 70 votes they won't influence nothing. But they create another public impression and open up future alliance opportunities.

If you are worried about a PDP retaliation, mind you politics is about give and take, there will be other opportunities to side with PDP, as long as they know when to oppose or support they will be fine. I say oppose this time around or at best, stand aloof and make a public show of it. It sends a message to future PDP or CPC factions.

What is the benefit of a Senate leader handpicked by OBJ and GEJ anyway? As opposed to one who owes his office to an ACN alliance(if they can influence that) I say oppose it jare, and make some noise about your opposition.

Correct yarn. If OBJ's imposition fall flatly on his face , like Etteh , the ACN will have the privilege of saying "we told you so" .

Gbawe:

Correct yarn. If OBJ's imposition fall flatly on his face , like Etteh , the ACN will have the privilege of saying "we told you so" .

But when will Tinubu fall flat on his face na?
How can a drug baron be the leader of any sort of political party?

ekt_bear:

I just wonder if it is worth sacrificing the speaker's position for a strategic point. I'd rather sacrifice it for something concrete and tangible. How do we know any of these other factions even value ideology anyway? If they don't, then we've given away something valuable for free.

I hope you see my point, right? This ACN ideology of merit will not work in a Nigerian setting. So if you use merit to screw your own zone out of something useful, you had damn sure be getting something back in return. Rather than giving away that useful thing for free.

Speaker is not a strategic point will the speaker defer funds to the SW at the expense of other regions? NO- or he shouldnt atleast.

as far as im concerned why would the SW want speaker it was there before didnt do poo for us, We had a president who didn't do shiot for us.
I understand everyone wants to brag and laugh make fun of the SE.

no really worth it