“I will be voting Tajudeen Abbas, PhD” was the commonest refrain during the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in early June. Even before the counting of votes, the thought of an upset by either Idris Wase or Aminu Jaji had been buried. The choice was clear, the speakership has moved from Lagos to Zaria.
Now the clock is ticking on the honeymoon period for Mr Abbas. His unprecedented margin of victory in the speakership race also underbellies the vulnerability of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House.
Despite the lack of a majority in the House – the APC has 177 out of the 359 members in the House – Mr Abbas emerged as Speaker with 353 out of the 359 votes of the members present at the inauguration.
