The incumbent Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Ahmed Idris Wase will on Friday, May 12 declare his intention to be the Speaker of the incoming Green Chambers in the 10th National Assembly.
Wase, 58, from Plateau state, will officially join the race after the declaration scheduled for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The Deputy Speaker is joining the race despite his party’s open preference for Hon Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna state.
Hon Wase, a former Deputy House Leader, stated that he would take advantage of the event to unveil his 16-year legislative track record and the agenda for the 10th Assembly.
The federal lawmaker also stated that as a public official, he has spent most of his life advocating for real solutions that are capable of expanding opportunity for all Nigerians.
Hon Wase had told journalists that he is not perturbed by the endorsement of Abbas by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He made the statement when he attended the declaration of Hon Mukthar Aliyu Betara for the position.
Supporters of Hon Wase say he has experience and has steered the affairs of the House competently in the absence of the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila as deputy, in the last four years.
”His experience will definitely wield together the old and new members-elect coming in under different parties,” Ibrahim Tijjani Ibrahim Gamawa, special assistant on new media to Hon Wase, wrote on Twitter.
On Saturday, May 6, 2023, Hon Wase unveiled his campaign office at the Jabi area of Abuja, with a promise to offer a fresh air of leadership if he is elected the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.