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The battle for the speakership of the House of Representatives has shifted to the Asokoro lodges of governors from the Peoples Democratic Party, in Abuja, where they read the Riot Act to lawmakers-elect to respect the party's decision by electing Mrs. Mulikat Akande-Adeola as speaker on Monday.
This is even as a rash of meetings of Reps zonal caucuses continued on Saturday to finalise strategies on the election of Speaker.
The life of the House under the superintendence of Mr. Dimeji Bankole ended on Saturday.
The contest for the exalted speakership seat has sharply divided the 360-member House, throwing up Adeola, Messrs Aminu Tambuwal and Muraino Ajibola, as aspirants.
The PDP leadership in league with its governors had endorsed Akande-Adeola as the party's candidate after a meeting on Thursday in Abuja.
But a group of lawmakers led by Tambuwal, who is also aspiring for the most hallowed chair, has remained defiant, and vowed to contest the seat.
It was gathered that the adamant posture of the Tambuwal group, compelled the party to direct its PDP governors to individually reach out to their repsentatives to make them act in accord with the party position.
Consequently, PDP governors still in Abuja met the legislators last Friday to pressurize them to vote for the anointed candidate of the party.
One lawmaker outside the North, told Sunday Punch on Saturday that the governors called them to appeal and in some cases, intimidate, adding however, that they would still go ahead with the "Tambuwal project."
He said, "The governors called us on Friday to read the Riot Act; but governors were not the ones that elected us. The electorate elected us.
"Our oath of allegiance is to the Constitution and not to any individual, mindful of the fact that the Constitution has no provision for either North or South, but one indivisible country called Nigeria.
"The important thing is that the Speaker of the House does not belong to the PDP alone, but also belongs to other political parties.
"Therefore, no amount of coercion, intimidation or threat will deter us from going ahead with our plan."
Source: Punch