Akande
Tambuwal’s defection: History beckons on Akande-Adeola 0
BY OUR REPORTER ON NOVEMBER 7, 2014 POLITICS
Our Reporter: CHUKS EZE

All eyes are on the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the National Assembly since its Speaker, Aminu , resigned. Many are already thinking of who will replace him when the House eventually reconvenes. Predictably, the Green Chamber will be a theatre of politics in the near future.

However, whatever happens, many expect that history is once again beckoning on Mulikat Akande-Areola, who lost to Hon. Tambuwal in the beginning of this 7th National Assembly.

When Akande-Adeola assumed office as a member of the House of Representatives on May 29, 2011, it was almost certain that she was going to make history, as Nigeria’s second woman Speaker. Her party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), appeared to have settled for her by zoning the position to the South West where she hails from. In the estimation of many, she was just waiting to be crowned.

The then Acting Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Bello Haliru, after attending a meeting convened by the PDP Governors at the Rivers State Governors Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja in May, 2011, said the meeting resolved that the positions of Senate President and Speaker should not be contested by any lawmaker elected on its platform because David Mark and Akande-Adeola were the party’s choices.
Haliru added that he led a delegation of the PDP, which comprised Vice President Namadi Sambo and the then National Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, to intimate the governors with the party’s position on the issue of zoning.
He noted that the party’s decision to endorse the female lawmaker, who is representing Ogbomoso North/Ogbomoso South/Orire Federal Constituency of Oyo State, for the number four leadership position in the country was informed by its belief in 35 per cent affirmative action on women representation.
The PDP acting national chairman added that the party instructed the governors to go to their various geopolitical zones to prevail on their elected representatives to support the party’s position.

With that level of support, it was hardly foreseen that things would not go the party’s way.

In settling for her, the party was not unmindful of the fact that she came fully made. She has been a member of the House, representing Ogbomosho North, South/Orire Federal Constituency since 2007. So, experience, which is key to holding that position, was not in want.

With such intimidating credentials, she was set to lead the House until some of her colleagues from the PDP decided to join forces with the opposition to work against their party’s interest. The result was the emergence of Aminu Tambuwal as Speaker, with 252 votes. Akande-Adeola scored 90 votes.

The PDP then, in a six-paragraph statement, condemned the action of members of the House of Representatives, who voted for Tambuwal against the candidate of the party.

The statement reads: “The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) notes with great concern the unfolding developments in the House of Representatives, especially the outcome of the election of principal officers on Monday, June 6, 2011”. The PDP did not take it kindly that Tambuwal and his supporters disobeyed the arrangement of the party.

But as it appears, history beckons on Akande again since Alhaji Tambuwal defected to the APC. Now that Tambuwal has left the PDP for the opposition APC, his days as Speaker seem numbered and analysts say the opportunity for Akande-Adeola to take up the mantle of leadership has come again. The argument of analysts is that it is not too late to reverse the injustice she suffered as a result of Tambuwal’s emergence.
Many also are in agreement that by Adeola’s emergence this time, the South West will in fairness take the position which rightly belongs to her. The contention is that losing out in the political struggle, the geo-political zone was robbed because Akande was only meant to represent the zone, which the North ended up appropriating to swell its basket of political offices. With the present arrangement, the North has the Vice-President, the country’s number two position, the Senate President, the country’s number three position and the Speaker, the country’s number four position. In the eyes of critical observers, the South West has not got a fair share of power under President Jonathan, hence getting Akande-Adeola to take over from Tambuwal will be seen as giving the region a sense of belonging.

There are also those who argue that the women will feel integrated as the present administration is still in favour of men even though President Jonathan has been trying to bridge the gap. This is even as it is believed that women are known to be more than men in terms of voting power. Analysts believe that a woman like Akande-Adeola with his wealth of experience has a chance of now occupying the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The argument is that as the House Leader, she has garnered a lot of experiences in parliamentarian politics and procedures. Many believe that her emergence as Speaker will further enrich debates and the leadership of the House. As a lawyer with many years of practice, the House will also be benefitting a lot from her leadership. In the estimation of many, she has also shown that she is a woman who does not believe in do-or-die politics because despite the fact that she was displaced from benefitting from a zoning arrangement that favoured her, she has cooperated with Tambuwal in the interest of the House. Some desperate politicians unlike Akande would have posed a threat to Tambuwal since the party hierarchy did not support him from inception.

The thinking is that with Tambuwal likely to be out of the way, the South West would soon take what hitherto was hers. But critical observers are patiently waiting to see how the matter will be handled by the power brokers in Nigeria.

how does the ordinary man in the south west benefit.... how did the ordinary man in sokoto benefit how did the ordinary man in ogun styate benefit when dimeji bankole was speaker.....

abeg use another line

One of the reason i dont like this 'umbrella' party is this zoning hell of a thing.


Of what use will it be if a competent 'mallam' will have to seat out for an incompetent 'oyel' man







Be that as it may,all of them na be the same thing jare.

When it is the north's turn, the scream zoning but when it is another zone's turn they act as defenders of democracy. That's why most of them are in the party of the hypocrites - Angry People's Congress.

The speakership must return to the southwest, otherwise 2019 presidency would be open for all to contest.