TheCable

Femi Gbajabiamila, the candidate endorsed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the speakership of the house of representatives, has given the condition under which he would work with Yakubu Dogara, who eventually emerged speaker of the lower chamber.

Dogara had insisted on a contest despite the position of the party on leadership of the assembly.

He defeated Gbajabiamila with eight votes in a keenly contested election.

Addressing journalists in Abuja after an emergency meeting of some lawmakers and the national working committee of the party on Thursday, Gbajabiamila acknowledged Dogara as the nation’s number four citizen.

“We will work with the leadership of the house and with the speaker for as long as the party’s programmes are properly articulated and pursued on the floor of the house,” he said.

“He is an APC member but not the speaker of the APC but of the house of representatives of the country. So we will work with him and support him.”

Commenting on the decision of APC to sanction the lawmakers that defied its instruction during the election, the former minority leader said discipline is very important in any organisation.

“Whatever the party decides to do, that’s for the party; it’s not for me to speak about it,” he said.

“All I know is that in every association there must be discipline.”

On his part, Mohammed Monguno, who had the backing of the party to be the deputy speaker, described the situation in the lower chamber as a reality that APC must rise to face.

“As it is now, that is the reality on the ground and we have to deal with it,” he said.

“As loyal party members, we will not take any step that is going to affect the interest, peace, order and good governance of this country.

“The emergence of the leadership of the national assembly is a reality on ground as far as the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria is concerned.”