The Chairman of the Progressive Governors' Forum, the umbrella body of all governors elected on the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Hope Uzodinma, has said the choice of Rt. Hon. Tajudern Abbas and Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu for the speaker and the deputy speaker of the incoming 10th House of Representatives has their backing and blessing.
The governor made the disclosure when he hosted the campaign team of the Abbas/Kalu joint ticket led by the Joint Task –10th Assembly Coalition at the Imo State Governor's Lodge, Asokoro Abuja.
He said the party has made the best choice of presiding officers, pledging the Governors' resolve to actualize the party's vision for the preferred candidates on the June 13 inauguration day.
The Governor commended members of the coalition who drawn from the 8 political parties that won seats in the 10th House, saying they made the right decision to support the joint ticket.
Uzodinma who is the Governor of Imo State from the south east enjoined the candidates to reach out to the aggrieved aspirants for a united House.
"I congratulate you once more on the success you achieved in the last election and to commend you for coming together to form an alliance towards the speakership race. You have taken a good decision to support these two gentlemen. What we are practicing today is democracy and APC is the ruling party and you have a responsibility now to help the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to succeed, and we all know that the most sensitive arm of government is the legislature and if we make a mistake with it, the other two arms will be affected.
"If the parliament is right, the government will be right, and I want to urge you to reach out to those who are aggrieved to persuade them to see the reason to agree with us. When you have a situation such as this, you will tell others your party is the best and this instance, APC is in the majority and we have to demonstrate maturity by forging a common front in unity."
He urged aggrieved aspirants to close ranks with the party's preferred candidates and work together to determine a purposeful legislature capable of promoting and projecting the overall interest of Nigerians, adding that Abbas' choice by the party was not an imposition.
"There's no such thing as imposition. It's for the benefits of all of us, and the synergy will help us to achieve more for our people back home. If you say that it means you're willing and ready to disagree with the majority including the government. We know you have the power of appropriation, but when you appropriate, what about cashbacking?
"You certainly don't want to go home after four years and tell your people you couldn't achieve anything because you were not co-operating with the executive for their benefit but when you work in harmony, you will reap the benefits of the cooperation and your people back home will be the better for it," the Governor advised.
Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, the Governor said together with his colleagues, the forum has resolved to demonstrate maturity and work with the choice of the party, stressing that the duo of Abbas and Kalu represent the best in the present circumstance.
He said the National Assembly was not about the zone that produced a presiding officer but about who was capable of handling the dynamic of current socioeconomic situations prevalent in the country.
He added that the progressive governors forum was confident that Abbas and Kalu will deliver to Nigerians the kind of legislature that engendered economic rejuvenation and social infrastructure such as quality schools, healthcare and security using instrumentality of laws that they will pass.
In his remarks, the speakership hopeful, Abbas expressed confidence in the ability of the Progressive Governors to ensure that the team as endorsed by the party was delivered during the inauguration of the House on June 13, adding that the hope of the common man rested on them as far as productive representation was concerned.
Similarly, the Deputy speakership candidate, Kalu in his comment expressed gratitude to Governor Uzodinma for throwing his weight behind the ticket, saying that he trusted in his love for the parliament, being a product of the legislature, himself.
Kalu further explained that his candidature wasn't an individual recognition but a mandate of the entire South East, to be on the new team of leaders upon whom the task of providing positive change in the lives of Nigerians had been entrusted.
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