There is calm at the House of Representatives after the dust raised by the acrimonious election of its presiding officers on June 9 and another 49-day battle to pick other principal officers of the majority All Progressives Congress seems to be settling. It is difficult to say if peace is finally here.
The speakership election had several strands to it – a majority party being unable to put a preferred candidate, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, on the seat because some APC legislators, supposedly arguing on the side of independence of the legislature, worked with minority parties to produce the eventual winner – Mr. Yakubu Dogara. The main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, played a key role in the outcome of the poll. There was the question of the geographical spread of the principal offices, federal character and the suspicion over whether the party, indeed, decided on any candidate to be speaker, among other issues.
However, observers have singled out the role of the Governor of Sokoto State, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, in the election for deeper analysis and how it is altering or has altered the relationship between him and Gbajabiamila.