Politics
10th NASS: ‘Why Speakership Shouldn’t Be Zoned To North West’
There are strong indications that members of the 10th House of Representatives may resist any attempt to zone the Speakership of the lower legislative chamber to the North West geopolitical zone.
This is even coming amidst intense lobbying by power brokers within the All Progressives Congress (APC) to push for a candidate from North Central.
Already, a meeting of the APC National Executive Committee (NEC), where a position will be taken on the zoning arrangement for presiding officers of both chambers of the National Assembly has been fixed for this month.
Meanwhile, key APC members from the North West, have indicated interest for the office of Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
From the same North West, former chairman of the House Committee on National Intelligence in the 8th Assembly, Aminu Jaji from Zamfara state; Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna and Majority Leader of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa from Kano state, are already campaigning to replace Femi Gbajabiamila.
A member of the House of Representatives representing
Owo/ Ose Federal Constituency of Ondo State in the Green Chamber, Timehin Adelegbe, who spoke to newsmen in Abuja, faulted the agitation for the slot of Speaker of the 10th National Assembly by the North West APC members.
Adelegbe noted that the zone has produced four Speakers of the House of Representatives since 1999 and should therefore be precluded from the race.
The lawmaker recalled that the North West during the tenure of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo produced Salisu Buhari and Ghali Na’Abba while the incumbent governors of Katsina and Sokoto States, Aminu Masari and Aminu Tambuwal had also occupied the position of Speaker.
He said: “Well, naturally, it is a very simple thing if we don’t put emotions into all those things. If you look at it generally, in the north there are three regions, in the south there are three regions. South-west has produced the President, naturally Speaker can not come from South-west. North-east has picked the Vice President, naturally the Speaker can not come from that area which means from the two bipolar level of south and north, two regions have left.
“So, in the north, we are left with north-west and north-central. And looking at the advent of democracy till today, north-west has produced four speakers|”.
They produced Tambuwal, they produced Salisu Buhari, they produced Ghali Na’aba and they have produced Aminu Masari; that is north-west. So, morally this should not be a big thing.
“Yes, north-west has contributed hugely to the electoral victory of Asiwaju. Can we say because of electoral victory say we are going to block out south-east and south-south from taking leadership of National Assembly? No. “
Honourable Adelegbe further suggested that the APC NEC should consider zoning the position of Speaker to the North Central geo- political zone.
“In fact, if I am to advice, this is very simple, there is no way again that since north-east has picked Vice President, south-west has picked President, naturally the Senate President should either come from south-south or south-east. And since north-west has produced four speakers before, they should look into the area of Deputy President of the Senate and allow north-central which has enjoyed the luxury of being President of the Senate before now to taste the speakership. There shouldn’t be too much emotions in this. This is very simple.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit the list of candidates for the 2027 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections from Saturday, August 8, to Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The commission announced the extension in a statement issued on Saturday and signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna.
According to INEC, the decision followed appeals by political parties for additional time to complete the submission process through the dedicated online portal.
“The submission window, which according to the revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, 8th August, 2026, has been extended to Tuesday, 11th August, 2026,” the commission said.
In a a related development, INEC announced the suspension of PVC collection in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The commission said voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced Permanent Voter Cards would have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to print downloadable copies of their cards.
The electoral body explained that the deadline was necessary to enable it compile data on downloaded PVCs and produce final statistics on the total number of cards collected ahead of the election.
INEC said PVC collection in Osun commenced at the Registration Area level from July 22 to 28, 2026, but was extended to July 31 following complaints about large crowds and difficulties experienced by voters at collection centres.
The exercise subsequently moved to the local government level and ran from August 1 to 7.
The commission also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the theft of cards during attacks on the two collection centres.
It stressed that the stolen cards could not be used to vote.
INEC reassured Osun residents of its preparedness for the August 15 governorship election.
“The commission reiterates that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
“INEC reassures the people of Osun State of its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on 15th August, 2026,” the statement said.
The commission said the deadline, initially set for Saturday, 8 August, has been extended to Tuesday, 11 August 2026, following appeals from political parties for more time.
INEC also announced that the window for voters who applied to replace lost, damaged or defaced PVCs to download their replacement cards will close at midnight on Sunday, 9 August.
The move is to enable the commission compile final PVC collection figures ahead of the 15 August Osun governorship election.
INEC said replacement downloadable PVCs have also been provided to affected voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas after hoodlums carted away cards from two collection centres, stressing that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
The commission reaffirmed its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive election in Osun State.
Gov. Kefas made the remarks over the weekend at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, during the flag-off of the second phase of the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach in Taraba State, organised as part of activities marking Prof. Yilwatda’s 58th birthday.
The governor commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing to mark his birthday by providing medical care to people in need.
“What Professor Nentawe did is a powerful demonstration of what leadership should be,” Gov. Kefas said.
He assured that his administration would continue to support initiatives that complement government efforts to improve healthcare delivery and the wellbeing of residents.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Yilwatda called on Nigerian leaders to embrace the culture of giving and use their positions to touch the lives of the less privileged.
He said his decision to celebrate his 58th birthday in Taraba State was deliberate and informed by the needs of underserved communities, particularly people who face difficulties accessing healthcare because of distance and financial constraints.
According to him, the intervention followed a needs assessment and was extended across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He said the exercise commenced on August 3 at Takum General Hospital and covered the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Wukari; First Referral Hospital, Sunkani, Ardo-Kola Local Government Area; General Hospital, Bali; General Hospital, Gembu; and FMC Jalingo.
Prof. Yilwatda said the intervention provided medical services to thousands of beneficiaries, including people who required surgical procedures.
He said sustainable national development could only be achieved when strong institutions placed Nigerians at the centre of development.
“Leadership is about service,” he said, urging political and public leaders to make giving back to society an important part of their responsibilities.
He reaffirmed his commitment to serving Nigeria and its people, saying his personal vision was to make every day of his life useful to humanity.
“Every day that I live, the vision is: let it be useful to humanity,” he said.
The Taraba State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bordiya Buma, commended the initiative, saying it was consistent with the Renewed Hope agenda and efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery in the state.
Dr Buma said the second phase followed the successful completion of the first phase, which was conducted simultaneously in six local government areas, with two LGAs selected from each of the three senatorial districts.
According to him, more than 10,000 patients were attended to during the first phase, including people with medical and surgical conditions.
He disclosed that 327 general surgeries, 71 eye surgeries and 575 dental procedures were carried out during the exercise.
The commissioner expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach and thanked Prof. Yilwatda for supporting the initiative and choosing Taraba State as a beneficiary.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, also commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing Taraba State to mark his 58th birthday through a medical outreach.
Prof. Pate said making healthcare the centrepiece of the birthday celebration was significant because health affects everyone.
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