The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has thrown its weight behind the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, on his choice of principal minority officers as announced during plenary on Wednesday.
The position of SDP was made known in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Akure by its only member in the House, Hon. Tajudeen Adefisoye, representing Idanre/Ifedore Constituency.
NAN reports that Gbajabiamila had announced Rep Ndudi Elumelu (PDP-Delta) as Minority Leader of the lower chamber.
Adefisoye, who explained that he and his colleagues in all the minority parties had reached an agreement on the choice of minority principal officers, said: “therefore, we support the choice as announced by the speaker on Wednesday.”
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“The names read by the Speaker on the floor of the House truly reflected the choices made by members of the minority parties.
“I speak on behalf of my party, the Social Democratic Party, which is one of the minority parties in the House.
“I want to make it clear that the names read on the floor of the House by the Speaker were the ones duly nominated and endorsed by myself and other colleagues in other minority parties,” he said.
Adefisoye described the new principal minority officers as very competent and responsible members whose reliability and moral standings the House could readily vouch for.
He also described the names sent by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the speaker as a mere wishful thinking.
” The names sent to the Speaker by the PDP is null and void as far as we are concerned.
“The reality is that PDP cannot unilaterally decide on the issues of minority principal officers for all other minority parties.
“After all, PDP is just one party out of the multiple minority parties in the House,” Adefisoys said.
NAN reports that the PDP had chosen Reps Kingsley Chinda as Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyema (PDP-Anambra) as Deputy Minority Leader, Yakubu Bade (PDP-Kaduna) as Minority Whip and Muraina Ajibola (PDP-Oyo) as Deputy Minority Whip.
However, Gbajabiamila announced Elumelu as Minority Leader, Reps Toby Okechukwu (PDP-Enugu) as Deputy Minority Leader, Gideon Gwami as Minority Whip and Adesegun Adekoya as Deputy Minority Whip. (NAN)
