Betara, Gagdi step down after assembly Tinubu

Two main aspirants for the place of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aliyu Betara and Yusuf Gagdi, have withdrawn from the race.

Their withdrawal was introduced by Vice President Kashim Shettima Sunday night on the State Home in Abuja after a gathering the aspirants and Mr Shettima had with President Bola Tinubu.

Mr Shettima additionally stated Messrs Betara and Gagdi have endorsed the candidature of Tajudeen Abbas, a lawmaker from Kaduna State, for the place of speaker.

The assembly was attended by the Chief of Workers to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the governor of Niger State, Mohammed Bago, who’s a former member of the Home, and the Deputy Nationwide Chairman (North) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Aliyu Betara and Yusuf Gagdi have accepted to step down and endorsed the candidature of Hon Tajudeen Abbas for the Speakership of the Federal Home of Representatives.

“The president was fairly touched by their gesture as a result of what binds us collectively is superior to no matter that divides us. We’re one huge APC household and collectively we will all go to… on Tuesday. We can not thank them sufficient for the gesture….

“And we wish to commend the roles performed by the Chief of Workers to Mr President, by his Excellency, the Government Governor of Niger State, by the management of the get together right here represented by the Deputy Nationwide Chairman (North). I feel our get together members will heave a sigh of reduction,” Mr Shettima stated.

Messrs Betara and Gagdi have been thought-about main aspirants for the speakership place till the ruling get together, APC, and Mr Tinubu zoned the ticket to the North-west and declared assist for Mr Abbas.

On Sunday, additionally they pledged their assist for Ben Kalu, a lawmaker from Abia State, south-east Nigeria, for the place of deputy speaker.

Whereas Mr Betara hails from Borno State within the north-east, Mr Gagdi is from Plateau State, north-central Nigeria.

They belong to the “Group of Seven” lawmakers who vowed to go forward to contest for the speakership seat regardless of the assist of their get together and Mr Tinubu for Mr Abbas.

The opposite members of the group are the outgone Deputy Speaker of the Home, Idris Wase (Plateau), former Home Chief Alhassan Doguwa, Sada Soli (Katsian), Sani Jaji (Zamfara) and Miriam Onuoha (Imo).

The lawmakers additionally complained that Messrs Abbas and Kalu have been anointed because the get together’s candidates with out consultations and vowed to choose a consensus candidate amongst them to run in opposition to the previous (Abbas).

Mr Doguwa has since left the group and declared assist for the popular candidates of the get together.

It’s, nevertheless, not clear if the others will equally declare their assist for Mr Abbas, like Messrs Betara and Gagdi, as none of them has commented on the event on the time of this report.

The election of the brand new speaker and the deputy speaker might be held Tuesday through the inauguration of the tenth Nationwide Meeting.