Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Idris Wase, has congratulated the newly elected Speaker, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and his Deputy, Hon. Benjamin Kalu following their emergence as presiding officers of the 10th assembly of the House.
Wase, who contested alongside the incumbent Speaker however lamented that the zoning arrangement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was unfair.
In his congratulatory message issued on Wednesday, Wase noted that his decision to contest was due to the marginalisation of the North Central and lopsidedness in the distribution of top political offices in the country.
“I wish to extend my sincere congratulations to Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu on their election as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively of the 10th House of Representatives.
“Although we were on different sides of the political space, we have, nevertheless, always acknowledged that we were all partners in the project of deepening our parliamentary democracy.
“I believe my contest in this speakership election was much more about making a case for what I considered a lack of equity and fairness in the manner in which my party’s zoning was done much more than it was about winning.
“As a politician who has been engaging in elections since 2007 and has returned to the House for the 5th term, I verily understand that every contest must generate its necessary contentions.
“However, in the end, we have to come together to confront the bigger matters of stability of the Parliament and enriching Legislative Governance to deepen our collective democracy.
“In this light, I wish to once again congratulate the Rt. Hon. Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu on their victory and urge my supporters and well-wishers, as well as my fellow contestants to give them all the cooperation required to achieve a stable and united 10th House of Representatives.
“I intend to fervently and actively participate in all Legislative Business of the 10th Assembly and will continue to proudly represent not only the good people of Wase Federal Constituency but Nigerians at large,” he said.
He also thanked his supporters as well as President Bola Tinubu for his “continuous fatherly support and counsel which he has sustained from my early days in ACN till date. I am immensely indebted to you sir and will continue to be.”
Wase congratulates Abbas, Kalu
