“We are saying that we’re not antagonizing the party either. We’re only providing an alternative for the wrong choice the party has made ab initio, so that the party might have a rethink before Tuesday and say okay, we’ve made a mistake, let us do things rightly."
Hon. Umar Mohammed Bago, a member of Nigeria's House of Representatives has said the All Progressives Congress made a mistake by zoning the leadership of the lower chamber to the South-west.
Bago, a third-time representative from Chanchanga federal constituency of Niger State, in an interview with Daily Trust, said his refusal to back down from the race is to correct the mistake made by the party.
The lawmaker had also claimed that the South-east and the North-central were the greatest casualties of the zoning formula of the party, as they feel marginalized by the decision of the party to zone the speakership of the 9th Assembly to the region.
He added that he is contesting the position to provide an alternative against the bad choice made by the party.
He said, “We are saying that we’re not antagonizing the party either. We’re only providing an alternative for the wrong choice the party has made ab initio, so that the party might have a rethink before Tuesday and say okay, we’ve made a mistake, let us do things rightly."
Further asked if Gbajabiamila is a bad choice because of the accusation against him, Bago said, “No, it’s by the zoning. The party alienated two zones in their consideration, the North-central and the South-east.
“The North-central where I’m from, we know we deserve to produce the speaker based on what we brought to the table for APC to be victorious. This is something that nobody can doubt, the figures are there.”