Speakership: Step down and support me, Onyejeocha tells Gbajabiamila, declares



Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Avaitaion, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, has formally declared her intention for speakership of the ninth assembly of the House.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, the lawmaker however appealed to incumbent Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, who the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) earlier endorsed as its preferred candidate for the position, to drop his bid as “sacrifice for leadership”.

Fielding questions after formally making her ambition known, Onyejeocha who argued that the APC still had time to review its position in order to reflect equity and balance in the polity, as well as create opportunity for the womenfolk said Gbajabiamila “is a good leader.
“He was a minority leader, and later the majority leader, he can give sacrifice, and the time is now. Nigeria needs healing, and so somebody has to play sacrifice, so that the country will move forward”.

She also faulted the stance of National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, who said committees heads of the parliament would only be of the party’s extraction,because it has majority of elected members. 
“I’m an APC member, I ran my election on its platform. There is no way the party will not work with the House, including the opposition Elections are over, it is now time for governance, and in doing so, you must work with the people”, she stated.

Justifying her ambition on the basis of her experience of about 11 cognate years in the House, and other factors, Onyejeocha said: “I believe that I am very well equipped with knowledge, experience and the integrity needed to manage bigger responsibilities.

“It is in the light of this, that I Offer myself for consideration by my Colleagues for A higher responsibility as a Presiding Officer and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 9th National Assembly.

As a Member of the All Progressive Congress (APC), who struggled against all odds to win a re-election under very difficult circumstances in Abia State, I believe that my party, the APC has a lot to do to help consolidate on the significant victory that the party recorded in winning this House of Representatives seat in Abia State, where my party has made important gains in its electoral fortune in the South East of Nigeria.

“The message from my people of the South East geo-political zone of Nigeria, is that they demand equity in representation. I also think that as a woman, who has distinguished herself and contributed immensely to the development of Nigeria and to the good political and electoral fortunes of my party, the APC, in the South East, leading to our emergence as the party of choice at the national level, should use the opportunity of my expression of interest in the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives to fulfill its promise to Nigerians, that it would increase women participation in the governance of the country.”

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