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By Andrew Agbese
In the history of Nigeria’s legislature, out of the zones that have occupied the seat of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the North-Central zone has had the shortest stint, only for three months!
All the other zones, on the other hand, have held it for several years, with the only exception being the South-South.
The only time the North-Central zone held it was in 1983, when the NPN administration of President Shehu Shagari won a second term and Hon. Chaha Biam from Benue State was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives and served from October to December of that year, before the military came and sacked the Second Republic.
In the First Republic, Chief Jaja Wachukwu, from the region now known as South-East became the first indigenuos Speaker shortly before independence in 1959 and handed over the baton to Ibrahim Jalo Waziri from the region now known as North-East in 1960.
Chequered by so many millitary interruptions in Nigeria’s democracy, the history of the legislature has been a tale of vicissitudes with so many ups and downs.
At the return of democracy in 1979, Chief Edwin Umezeoke of the NPP from the South-East had held sway as Speaker between 1979 to 1983 in a marriage of convenience between the NPN and the NPP.
Prior to the current democratic dispensation, the Ibrahim Babangida administration had inaugurated a federal legislature that served under his military government and in that era, the South-East took the slot of Speaker when Agunwa Anaekwe from Anambra State, served as Speaker of the House between 1992 and 1993.
Before the current dispensation, the North-East has had it once while the South-East held it thrice with Umezeoke and Anaekwe.
But the long haul of the current dispensation with the return to democracy in 1999 uninterrupted for almost 24 years, has given almost all the geopolitical zones in the country, the opportunity to produce speakers of the House of Representatives for reasonable number of years but the North-Central, which, apart from the three months stint by Chaha Biam, has not had any other opportunity to preside over the Green Chamber.
From 1999 to 2007 the position of Speaker was zoned to the North-West with Salisu Buhari, Ghali Umar Na’Abba and Aminu Bello Masari taking their turns, while, between 2007 to 2011 the South-West had it with Patricia Etteh and Dimeji Bankole presiding while the position went back the North-west between 2011 to 2015 with Aminu Tambuwal presiding and in 2015, the North-East clinched the position again with Yakubu Dogara.
By 2019, however, it returned to the South-West with the current Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.
As permutations have commenced over who will be speaker in the 10th Assembly, it has become necessary to draw attention to the need of zoning the position to the North-central as it is the zone that has the least representation on the seat.
So far, the North-West has had more than it’s fair share having taken the slot for 12 record years with Salisu Buhari, Na’Abba, Masari and later Tambuwal followed by the North East with the ten years of Waziri and Dogara combined, then the South-west with the combined eight years of Etteh, Bankole and Gbajabiamila; the six years of Umezeoke and Anaekwe from the South East and the one year of Wachukwu.
Apart from the historical factor, the likely configuration of the 10th Assembly, which would definitely take a cue from the composition of the executive arm of government, which has already produced the next president and his vice also makes it imperative for the North Central to be considered.
With the current arrangement where the president-elect comes from the South-West and the vice president-elect from the North-East, it is expected that the Senate Presidency would go to the South-East while the position of Deputy Senate President would go to the North-west while the Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions would go to the North Central and South South regions respectively.
This will ensure fairness and equity and give all the zones a sense of belonging in the next administration.
Moreover, the North-Central zone has contributed massively to the victory of the APC during the presidential and National Assembly elections that it should be given priority consideration in the allocation of political offices.
In the just concluded elections, the North-Central has given the APC presidential candidate the third highest number of votes from the regions polling 1,670,091 of the votes cast.
All the states in the zone voted overwhelmingly for the APC while the party such that where it is not leading, it is following closely as second.
The number of votes polled by the APC in the North-central is even more than the 1,190,458 votes the Northeast where the vice President-elect hails from recorded.
Since the formation of the APC the region has been overwhelmingly supportive of the APC with five of the governors being members of the party.
In 2015, states like Plateau and Benue, voted out the then ruling parties and gave their mandates to the APC and since then the love for the party in the zone has remained entrenched.
The zone also has ably qualified ranking members that can effectively handle the office of the Speaker with thorough efficiency if given the chance.
Ranking lawmakers such as Ahmed Idris Wase, who is a fifth-termer, representing Wase Federal Constituency of Plateau State, and a host of others from the zone who are capable of leading the House.
But Wase stands out as he is currently the Deputy Speaker of the House and will use the experience and knowledge garnered serving in the current position to give the House an efficient and effective leadership.
This would be the best way to compensate the North-central zone for both its shortfall in occupying the office and for its contribution to the success of the APC in the just concluded elections.
•Agbese writes from Wuse, Abuja
