Eshilokun May Emerge As Lagos Speaker
INDICATIONS have emerged that a former Chairman of the Lagos Island Local Government Area, Mr. Wasiu Eshilokun, may emerge as the next S...
https://newshelmng.blogspot.com/2015/04/eshilokun-may-emerge-as-lagos-speaker.html
INDICATIONS
have emerged that a former Chairman of the Lagos Island Local
Government Area, Mr. Wasiu Eshilokun, may emerge as the next Speaker of
the Lagos State House of Assembly.
A top member of the All Progressives Congress confided in our correspondent on Wednesday that Eshilokun was favoured by the zoning arrangement of the party in Lagos.
The tradition of the Assembly is that a first time member cannot emerge as the Speaker but Eshilokun had served as a member of the House between 1999 and 2003 before becoming the chairman of the Lagos Island LGA.
The official, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said, “The governor-elect, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, is from Lagos-East senatorial district while his deputy, Dr. Oluranti Adebule, is from Lagos-West.
“It is only fair that the Speaker should be from Lagos-Central. There is still intense lobbying for the position but Eshilokun is the most likely candidate to emerge as the Speaker.
“Presently, out of the 40 lawmakers in the House, only 20 will be returning and the principal officers of the House such as the Speaker, the deputy speaker and majority leader will not be returning to the House next month. So, Eshilokun seems the most likely candidate.”
The PUNCH also learnt from sources that “those in charge of the party” appeared to prefer Eshinlokun as Speaker.
“He is a preferred candidate by the leaders of the party,” a source told our correspondent on Wednesday.
Eshilokun, who is the immediate past secretary of the APC in the state, almost did not participate in the election when he was involved in a controversy with some party members during the primary last year. The controversy had been over the substitution of his name with that of one Hakeem Masha.
Eshilokun had maintained that he polled 186 votes while Masha polled only 70 but the result was manipulated.
He subsequently sued the Independent National Electoral Commission, the APC and Masha.
A Federal High Court subsequently ruled on March 6, mere five weeks before the April 11 election, that Eshilokun was the winner of the primary and ordered INEC to recognise him as the APC candidate for the Lagos Island constituency 1. He eventually won the poll.
A top member of the All Progressives Congress confided in our correspondent on Wednesday that Eshilokun was favoured by the zoning arrangement of the party in Lagos.
The tradition of the Assembly is that a first time member cannot emerge as the Speaker but Eshilokun had served as a member of the House between 1999 and 2003 before becoming the chairman of the Lagos Island LGA.
The official, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said, “The governor-elect, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, is from Lagos-East senatorial district while his deputy, Dr. Oluranti Adebule, is from Lagos-West.
“It is only fair that the Speaker should be from Lagos-Central. There is still intense lobbying for the position but Eshilokun is the most likely candidate to emerge as the Speaker.
“Presently, out of the 40 lawmakers in the House, only 20 will be returning and the principal officers of the House such as the Speaker, the deputy speaker and majority leader will not be returning to the House next month. So, Eshilokun seems the most likely candidate.”
The PUNCH also learnt from sources that “those in charge of the party” appeared to prefer Eshinlokun as Speaker.
“He is a preferred candidate by the leaders of the party,” a source told our correspondent on Wednesday.
Eshilokun, who is the immediate past secretary of the APC in the state, almost did not participate in the election when he was involved in a controversy with some party members during the primary last year. The controversy had been over the substitution of his name with that of one Hakeem Masha.
Eshilokun had maintained that he polled 186 votes while Masha polled only 70 but the result was manipulated.
He subsequently sued the Independent National Electoral Commission, the APC and Masha.
A Federal High Court subsequently ruled on March 6, mere five weeks before the April 11 election, that Eshilokun was the winner of the primary and ordered INEC to recognise him as the APC candidate for the Lagos Island constituency 1. He eventually won the poll.
