Opposition lawmakers-elect hold inaugural meeting at Transcorp Hilton. Meeting is believed to be first in series of efforts to fine-tune strategies towards producing the leadership of the Green Chamber.
With the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly barely nine weeks away, the Minority Caucus of the incoming House of Representatives is currently meeting at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
The meeting, which has in attendance members of the seven political parties that have so far won elections into the Green Chamber, is convened by Rep. Fred Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa) and isaid to be aimed at charting the way forward on the soon-to-be-inaugurated 10th National Assembly.
Declaring the event open, Rep. Dachung Bagos (PDP, Plateau) urged the opposition members-elect to henceforth regard themselves as the “Greater Majority,” which was adopted as the slogan of the Caucus.
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On her part, Rep. Beni Lar (Plateau, PDP) said: “It is something that many countries around the world long to achieve. We must unite, with unity we can achieve a lot. We must come together to play the role of the opposition. We must strengthen our democractic structure in the tenth assembly.”
Making his own contribution, Rep. Abdulmumini Jibril (NNPP, Kano) noted that “for us to contribute to nation building, we must come together. Nobody should call you for a private meeting. We look forward to working closely with all of you.”
The lawmakers thereafter enjoined one another to remain united so as to achieve a stronger opposition in the 10th National Assembly that will bring transformation to the people.
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With over one hundred and sixty members and the inability of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) to secure an overwhelming majority in the 10th House of Representatives, speculations are rife that the opposition parties are warming up to produce the leadership of the legislative chamber.
Based on the results of the February 25 National Assembly elections so far announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP has about 102 members in the chamber, while the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNPP) boast of thirty-four and eighteen members respectively. However, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has four seats in the House.
While the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) each have two seats, the Young Progressives Party (YPP) can only boast of one seat.
Elizabeth Atime
Lizzy Chirkpi has a BA in French and is a senior reporter at OrderPaper. She has keen interest in photo journalism and video documentaries. Author of the book; 'Pourquoi Le Français,' she likes reading, traveling and watching movies.
