Thursday, February 10, 2011

PDP ticket: I can't compromise my chance - Bankole

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, on Wednesday declared that he would not give up the struggle for a return ticket to the legislature.

Bankole spoke in a veiled reference to the uncertainty surrounding his bid. This is even as majority of the 360 members of the House failed to secure return tickets in the primaries of their respective parties.

In Bankole’s case, though he initially picked a return ticket to vie for the Abeokuta South Federal Constituency seat in the April elections, his name was not on the list submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission by the Peoples Democratic Party.
The party is split into the two factions in the state. While one is loyal to Governor Gbenga Daniel, the other is led by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Chief Jubril Martins-Kuye and is allied to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

But in a dramatic twist on Tuesday, Bankole was presented with the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ibadan, Oyo State, where President Goodluck Jonathan launched his South-West zonal presidential campaign.

Bankole, who presided over the sitting of the House on Wednesday, said he would not give up.

“The struggle continues; we are in this together. You know what I am talking about; we are in this together,” he said.

He spoke as the House debated a motion opposing an alleged decision by the Federal Executive Council to discontinue the further award of contracts for projects listed in the 2010 Appropriation Act. The lawmakers had observed that the non-implementation of the budget could affect their chances of re-election.

Meanwhile, the Action Congress of Nigeria has taken over the leadership of the opposition in the House. The former Minority Whip and Leader of the ACN, Mr. Femi Gbajamiamila, was announced as the new Minority Leader of the House on Wednesday. The development followed the depletion of the membership of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, which was until now the main opposition party.

The ANPP has over the past few months lost many of its members to the Congress for Progressive Change and the PDP.

The ANPP still retained the position of Deputy Minority Leader in the person of Mr. Nelson Alapa, while the former deputy minority leader, Mr. Abdulrahman Kawu, became the minority whip.

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