Opposition members-elect of the House of Representatives have agreed to work together when the 10th National Assembly is inaugurated later this year.
The members elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Young Progressive Alliance (YPP), Action Democratic Congress (ADC), and Social Democratic Party (SDP) met Tuesday night at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja where they settled on the slogan “Greater Majority.”
This is because there are 165 opposition members-elect to the ruling All Progressives Congress’ 162 lawmakers-elect going into the 10th House of Representatives.
Fifty-seven seats are yet to be filled and will be contested in the rescheduled supplementary elections slated for 15 April across Nigeria.
At the Tuesday meeting, re-elected Representative Beni Lar (PDP-Plateau) said it was the first time the opposition would have the majority in the House.
”With commitment from the members-elect we can protect our democratic values and each of us has a role to play,” she said.
”We shall remain focused and play our roles as vibrant opposition. We will work together to define our interests and bring about good leadership.”
An LP member-elect from Anambra, George Ozodinobi, said the opposition alliance will attract mutual benefits that would lead to a formidable opposition in the 10th assembly.
And an NNPP member-elect from Kano, Abdulmumini Jibrin, charged his colleagues to ensure Nigeria’s democracy is protected.
”The reason we have to come together tonight is for us to protect our ideals, the minority has to check the ruling party,” he said.
“We must put ourselves together, let us continue the way we started today to keep doing our best while also protecting individual ideals and ideology.”
The House of Representatives has 360 seats and a party needs 181 of them to form the majority to singlehandedly determine who becomes the speaker.
