Lawmakers stand firm against ‘consensus speaker’

There appears to be hope for a neutral person to emerge as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the next session.

The House yesterday validated its new election guidelines to the office which defeated a sudden push to reverse Tuesday’s new rule which allows multiple entrants into the race and permits the election to be through the open secret ballot system and not electronic voting. This gives members a needed tool to tackle the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) decision to zone the position to the South West geopolitical zone. It also offers protection to members who may vote against the party’s consensus candidate, believed to be Ajibola Muraina from Oyo State. The lawmaker, one of the only three ranking members elected on the platform of the party from the zone, enjoys wide-ranging support across the party to emerge the next Speaker. Yet he draws scant support from his colleagues, who view him as a stooge of major party backers in the South West. The lawmakers have indicated their readiness to scuttle the party’s arrangement, asking for a liberalised contest that would allow for more candidates, amid agitations by the South East lawmakers who have intensified their campaign for the seat. In its clearest decision yet on the issue, the House on Tuesday overwhelmingly amended its Order 2, Rule 3, suspending electronic voting purportedly due to difficulties in procuring electronic cards for new members. The official explanation has been punctured by members who, speaking unofficially, hinted at a ploy against Mr Muraina’s candidacy.

Mr Bankole does not want any problem

As the House convened Wednesday, it faced fresh calls to undo the policy, a highlight of the unrelenting power play as it draws near to the speakership poll early June. While considering the previous Votes and Proceedings for approval yesterday, Ita Enang, the chairperson of the House committee on Business and Rules, argued that the new amendment breached laid down procedures and remained illegal, calling for its nullification.

According to Mr Enang, “The House failed to suspend the necessary rules in taking that motion and I urge that the decision be reversed,” launching the session into fresh debates on the issue. Ironically, it was Mr Enang who moved the motion suspending the contentious order the previous day — a point he denied when his colleagues later confronted him. The turnaround drew sharp criticism from other members, who insisted the resolution be approved as stated, a call that was complied with by the Speaker, Mr Bankole.

“At this juncture, I don’t want to have any problem with members and the Votes and Proceedings is hereby approved,” the outgoing Speaker said. With the approval, the amendment is now assumed to be law having received the equivalent of the presidential signature for a conventional bill passed by the lawmakers.

The new order, sponsored by Cyril Maduabum, says the traditional electronic voting used for the election of principal officers of the House be replaced with an open secret ballot method to be conducted by the clerk of the house.

Some lawmakers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed fears over the electronic voting, which they said retained the soft signature of the voter and is readable on a printout easily made available after the poll — something that could come back to haunt them should they act against the choice of the party, Mr Muraina. According to them, the manual open secret option, in which voters identity remains strictly protected, is intended to neutralise that concern.