Two major aspirants for the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aliyu Betara and Yusuf Gagdi, have withdrawn from the race.
INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the duo decided to step down after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Mr Shettima also said Messrs Betara and Gagdi have endorsed the candidature of Tajudeen Abbas, a lawmaker from Kaduna State, for the position of speaker.
“Aliyu Betara and Yusuf Gagdi have accepted to step down and endorsed the candidature of Hon Tajudeen Abbas for the Speakership of the Federal House of Representatives.
“The president was quite touched by their gesture because what binds us together is superior to whatever that divides us. We are one big APC family and together we shall all go to… on Tuesday. We cannot thank them enough for the gesture….
“And we want to commend the roles played by the Chief of Staff to Mr President, by his Excellency, the Executive Governor of Niger State, by the leadership of the party here represented by the Deputy National Chairman (North). I think our party members will heave a sigh of relief,” Mr Shettima said.
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The meeting was attended by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the governor of Niger State, Mohammed Bago, who is a former member of the House, and the Deputy National Chairman (North) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Messrs Betara and Gagdi were considered leading aspirants for the speakership position until the ruling party, APC, and Mr Tinubu zoned the ticket to the North-west and declared support for Mr Abbas.
Meanwhile, they also pledged their support for Ben Kalu, a lawmaker from Abia State, south-east Nigeria, for the position of deputy speaker.
While Mr Betara hails from Borno State in the north-east, Mr Gagdi is from Plateau State, north-central Nigeria.
