‘You can advise, not anoint,’ Bago warns APC leadership, declares for Speaker position

The race to win the mantle of speaker of the House of Representatives is getting even hotter as chairman of the Committee on Marine Safety and Education, Hon. Umaru Mohammed Bago, yesterday declared his intention to vie for the office.

While formally declaring his intention at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, Bago warned the leadership of the All Progressive Congress APC against imposing any as speaker on the legislators.

He added that for equity and justice to prevail, APC should zone the position of speaker to the North-Central.

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He said: “Equity is the foundation for stability and it is only fair that the North-Central is given speaker this time. Look at the presidential election result; North-West gave 5,599,651 votes and they have the president. North- East gave 3,238,783 votes and they have Senate President zones there. North- Central gave the third highest votes of 2,465,599, and we are left empty handed.

“The South-West contributed 2,036,450 votes and they have the vice president; yet the party is again giving them speaker?” Bago, who said he was in the race to promote and deepen a robust relationship with all arms of government, declared that his ambition was non-negotiable.

“There is no retreat, no surrender. We are into this game and it is non-negotiable.

“We will make sure that the doctrine of separation of powers is adhered to. A political party can give direction, but it cannot anoint a candidate. What happened in 2015 will repeat itself if the party insists on travelling that same road,” he warned.

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