Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, a member of
the house of representatives, has urged Femi Gbajabiamila, majority leader of
the house, to step down for her in the race for speakership.
The Abia lawmaker appealed to
Gbajabiamila to “make due sacrifice” by giving up on his ambition to become
speaker “for Nigeria to move forward.”
Onyejeocha and Gbajabiamila are
both of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which is expected to produce the next
crop of national assembly leaders having emerged the majority party in the two
chambers.
Gbajabiamila has, however, been
endorsed by the leadership of the party.
Addressing journalists in Abuja
on Tuesday, Onyejeocha urged the party to have a rethink and zone the
speakership to the south-east.
The fourth-term lawmaker said
while she respects the party’s decision, Gbajabiamila should “as a leader pay
the sacrifice” for Nigeria to get to the next level.
“I respect my party chairman and
what the party has said it intends to do but I am appealing to them, it is not
yet late to withdraw their decision and include a woman from the two
geo-political zones left out in 2015,” she said.
“I know that the leader of the
house, Femi Gbajabiamila, is a good gentleman and good leader but there is a
time when any man who is a leader indeed to make needed sacrifice and that time
is now for the leader of my party in the house of representatives.
“This opportunity comes only once
when a leader will look at himself and say, ‘it’s not about me, it’s about
Nigeria.’ I also believe that Nigeria needs healing and somebody has to pay the
sacrifice for us to move to the next level, even if it means deciding that
speakership should go to another zone.”
Onyejeocha added that zoning the
speakership to the south-east will address the “demand for equity” from the
zone.
She said: “As a woman who has
distinguished herself and contributed immensely to the development of Nigeria,
the APC should use the opportunity of my expression of interest in the position
of Speaker of the House of Representatives to fulfill its promise to Nigerians,
that it would increase women participation in the governance of the country.”
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