House of Reps elections for Speaker, DSP commences

The election for the principal officers of the House of Representatives has commenced with a total of 360 members expected to cast their votes for their preferred candidate.

The Clerk to the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani Ataba Omolori, had earlier announced that he had received President Muhammadu Buhari’s proclamation of the 9th National Assembly.

The Clerk also announced that the only business for the day was the election of the speaker and the deputy speaker of the ninth House of Assembly.

The race for speaker of the House of Reps would be a battle between Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and Hon Umar Bago, both from the All Progressives Congress.

Gbajabiamila is the preferred candidate of the APC while Bago enjoys the backing of majority of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members led by the former speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

Meanwhile, Hon Idris Wase has declared interest for the deputy speakership.