Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Monday said that any attempt to impose leadership on the ninth National Assembly would not amount to fruition.
Dogara said this in Abuja during induction of Senators-elect and Representatives-elect of the ninth National Assembly.
He said a situation where “leadership is forced and literally driven down the throat of elected members had never endured in the National Assembly.”
Dogara said: “We have made a lot of mileage and we hope that we will be able to get the kind of leadership that will build on the achievements of this Assembly which is unparalleled in our legislative history.
“I will advise members to actually look out for those who have thrown themselves into the race to see who is it that will aggregate their aspirations better and then will be able to surpass the record of this Assembly.”
The speaker added: “Well, I’m not here to dictate to parties, the parties have their manifestoes, the way to do their businesses but one thing I have said and if you followed the business during this induction, it is always better to allow the leadership to emerge from the people.
“Where leadership has been forced upon the people, the history in the National Assembly, and in fact, the history of Nigeria, it has never endured. The least we could afford in the National Assembly is crisis on account of the leadership selection process.
“So whoever a party is sponsoring and supporting, they should make sure they have the backing of the legislature so that they (legislators) accept it because they own the process and they own the leadership.”
