GOVERNOR Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, on Wednesday, threw his weight behind the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Wase as the race for the speakership heightens.
This came as another aspirant for the speakership position, Mr Muktar Betara has vowed to fight on even if the position is not zoned to his northeast geopolitical region.
Governor Buni, who spoke while receiving Wase and his team at his in Abuja, said: “We in the APC and indeed the House of Representatives need you more than you need because there is no better time than now for us in the party to pay you back for your loyalty than now.”
Buni, a former acting national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, said: “Experience is not studied in the university; it evolves from institutional participation and entrenched ideas which you already have. For us, we know you will work based on experience because you are prepared more than any other.
“You didn’t need to come, I will work for you because to whom much is given, much is expected. You listened to us and stepped down when I was National Secretary even before the president, he knew about it and it is now time for us to reciprocate that your gesture; someone must step down down for you this time around.”
Betara vows to defy zoning outside North-East
Meanwhile, Betara, in a statement by his campaign group, Betara National Patriotic Mandate said he was aware of “deft moves” by some influential leaders to zone the North-East out of the speakership race.
The statement by the national coordinator of the group, Mallam Maigari Al- Amin said: “We are watching the events that are going on and we can see that some influential leaders are making deft moves to zone the northeast out the speakership race and hereby say that our principal, Betara, Insha Allah shall become the speaker because nobody can cow us and even convince us to stop this project. We shall fight on and win whether the party zones to north east or not.”
