EAGLES ONLINE – Despite a court order on Monday, the House of Representatives has vowed to change its leadership.
Sequel to a suit by the Peoples Democratic Party, an Abuja Federal High Court on Monday restrained the House of Representatives from changing its leadership pending the determination of the suit filed.
The PDP had gone to court to stop the House of Representatives from changing its leadership following the defection of some of its members in the House to the All Progressives Congress.
This development had made the PDP to lose the majority in the House.
The APC is now in the majority.
While the PDP now has 167 members in the House, the APC has 172.
Ruling on the suit on Monday, Justice Adeniyi Ademola ordered the House not to effect any leadership change until the suit brought by the PDP is determined.
Ademola said the leadership of the House must maintain the status quo until further notice.
But as the House resumes on Tuesday (today), the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Zakari Mohammed, has said that there will be a major shake-up in the leadership of the House.
Mohammed said the changes would affect the positions of the Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip among others.
Mohammed, who spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Monday, equally said another 10 members of the PDP in the House were set to defect to the APC.
He, however, said the House would not replace the Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal; and his deputy, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha.
He said this is because the two positions are subject to the constitution.
Mohammed said: “The speakership and deputy speakership are constitutional positions.
“You don’t necessarily have to be in the majority to be speaker in the House.
“As it stands today, as I talk to you now, we (APC) have 172 members, PDP has 167 and the rest, which is 20 to 22, belongs to the other parties.
“So, for me, I believe that by the special grace of God when we resume, we’re going to have other members coming to the APC when the position of the Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip would be repositioned to the APC.
“We have about 10 members who are coming into the APC as soon as we resume on Tuesday, January 21.”