The two anointed candidates of the All Progressives Congress for the leadership positions of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu, on Tuesday, arrived at the national secretariat in Abuja with about 30 members-elect for a meeting with the National Working Committee of the party.
The lawmakers, comprising members of the Joint Task Committee and loyalists of the current Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, arrived for the closed-door meeting in three white Coaster buses around 2.18 pm.
Tuesday’s political roundtable marks the first time Abbas and Kalu will be meeting with the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led NWC after the zoning arrangement was announced on May 8.
The APC had micro-zoned the position of Senate president to the immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godwin Akpabio, and Deputy Senate President to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Jibrin Barau.
In the House of Representatives, the seat of Speaker was zoned to Abass, while the Rep-elect from South-East, Kalu, clinched the Deputy Speaker slot.
The decision was announced a few weeks ago by the National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, after a three-and-a-half-hour meeting of the NWC
The arrangement had sparked outrage from other aspirants in the race and their cronies, with many blaming the party leadership for not consulting them before making the announcement.
As of the time of filing this story, the agenda of their meeting has not been made public.
But sources disclosed that the delegation may have come to brief the national chairman and the NWC members on the level of progress as part of the ongoing consultation in wooing their colleagues and other lawmakers across all boards to their camp.
More details later…
