Immediate past Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase and Hon. Ahmed Sani Jaji who contested the Speakership said they contested the election in the true spirit of democracy.
While Wase expressed his strong belief democracy should be allowed to thrive, Jaji said he is one of those who stands to protect democracy.
Speaking while accepting his nomination to contest the position of Speaker, Wase said he does not believe that the process of democracy should be truncated or the hands of members tied.
He said he was offering himself as Speaker of the House to serve as the voice of the voiceless in the country and be a true representative of the populace.
Accepting his nomination, Wase said,
“My respected colleagues, Members-Elect, I stand to first of all appreciate God Almighty for the journey so far in my life. We are very few, 360 among the over 200 million Nigerians to represent them and act on their behalf.
“Colleagues, I want to thank you and appreciate you for the support. I want to say that I believe democracy should thrive. I believe in equity, fairness and justice. I believe that Nigeria must move forward. I believe that we don’t need to truncate and tie our hands down.
“It is in the light of this that I pray that God Almighty continue from what our founding fathers have done who have sacrificed their lives for democracy.
“My heart bleeds as I see what is going on in the country. Colleagues, we all fought and continue to fight for democracy. I hereby submit myself to be the voice of the voiceless, to be the true representatives of the Nigerian populace, to be a co-partner in the Nigerian development project. I hereby accept the nomination”.
Sani Jaji on the other hand said,
“Today is a day of history, a day that all of us must reckoned with democracy. This nomination comes to me as a source of concern and I feel excited that today on the 13 of June, I’m one of those who stand to protect and defend democracy.
“It’s like yesterday that we concluded the general election where all the political parties participated despite the fragile unity that we have in the country and by the grace of God we were able to overcome it.
“So this election will not be different from the other one. We stand to believe power is from God. Is only God that will give power to whoever he wishes and if given the opportunity we will do the needful. Dear Honourable Colleagues, I rise to accept the nomination by my Honourable Colleagues wholeheartedly”.
Lawmakers from Plateau (where Wase comes from) and Zamfara (where Jaji comes from) voted against the two candidates.
Only Tijani Kayode from Kwara and Abdulmumin Mohammed Ari from Nasarawa who nominated and seconded the nomination of Wase as well as Yusuf Ahmed Doro and Muhammad Aminu Ibrahim both from Katsina who nominated and seconded Sani Jaji voted for the two aspirants.
