Wase: My speakership bid was not about winning | I was fighting for equity

Ahmed Wase, the immediate past deputy speaker of the house of representatives, has congratulated Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu on their election as speaker and deputy speaker of the 10th assembly.

Abbas, lawmaker representing Zaria constituency of Kaduna, was elected speaker of the house of representatives on Tuesday.

He defeated Wase and Sani Jaji by a landslide to win the election with 353 votes.

Wase and Jaji polled 3 votes each.

In a congratulatory message on Wednesday, Wase said his speakership bid was not about winning, but about challenging “the lack of equity and fairness in his party”.

The north-central from where Wase hails, did not get any position in the national assembly leadership.

However, the north-west produced the speaker and the deputy senate president.

Wase, however, said he will be a partner in the project of deepening parliamentary democracy.

“I believed that my contest in the speakership election is 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 and not about winning,” Wase said.

“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.

“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.”

Wase urged his supporters, well-wishers and fellow contestants to give the new leaders all the cooperation required to achieve a stable and united 10th house of representatives.

The former deputy speaker said he intends to “fervently and actively” participate in all legislative business and will continue to proudly represent not only his constituency but Nigerians at large.

“I thank my mentor and leader, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the federal republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu for his continuous fatherly support and counsel which he has sustained from my early days in ACN till date,” he said.