APC will decide leadership of 9th National Assembly, says Jibrin

To prevent a repeat of the tussle that erupted between leadership of the 8th assembly and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a member of the green chamber representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency in Kano, Abdulmumin Jibrin has said the party supremacy shall prevail on who become leaders in both green and red chambers.

Jibrin, former chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, who presumably affirmed that since the ruling APC forms majority of new members retuning to the National Assembly, posited that the era of Saraki and Dogora who took over the leadership of the assembly against the wishes of the party was over. 

Addressing journalists in Kano yesterday, Jibrin who revealed that the move to select new party leadership of the assembly is already set in motion, cautioned members from nursing any ambition that may jeopardize the interest of the party leadership.

According to Jibrin, “To avoid the mistake of the past, everybody should withdraw any ambition and allow the President and the party to choose who are going to be the Senate president and the Speaker of the House of Reps. This time around, we must allow the party supremacy to prevail.

“If my information is right for now, the APC is having 250 Reps members while the Senators we have now get close to 80, which means we are the majority in both chambers. My advice is, we must allow president Muhammadu Buhari and the party to choose for us who will be the Senate President and the Speaker.

“ We are going to engage the president and the party to decide who will be our leaders. This is to avoid the mistake of the past and have smooth sail in the managing of the affairs of the country.”He attributed the delay in the announcement of the result of his Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency to the crises that erupted between Kwankwaso supporters and APC members in his Kofa Town.

Jibrin who championed the popular budget-padding syndrome, which exposed the financial misappropriation of the national assembly, was among the members who rebelled against the party’s decision to nominate leadership of the assembly.He was the leader of the factional APC group who moved the recommendation of the outgoing speaker Yakubu Dogara against Femi Gbajabiamila, a candidature anointed by the party.