Yusuf Gagdi, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Navy, (APC, Plateau), has joined the speakership race.
Though Mr Gagdi, a former Deputy Speaker in the Plateau State House of Assembly, is yet to officially announce his entry into the race, sources within his campaign told PREMIUM TIMES that he is only awaiting the decision of his party on zoning.
This newspaper gathered that Mr Gagdi, representing Panskhin/Kanke/Kanam federal constituency of Plateau State, has been meeting lawmakers to position himself in the event that the speakership is zoned to the North-central geopolitical zone where he hails from.
He may have to contend for the position with the incumbent Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), who is also believed to be eyeing the speakership position.
42-year-old, Gagdi was elected into the Plateau State House of Assembly in 2015 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Despite being in the minority in the State House of Assembly, he was elected as the deputy speaker and subsequently defected to the APC in 2016.
In 2017, he was impeached as the deputy speaker. In 2019, he contested and won the election into the House of Representatives.
He was appointed the Chairman of the House Committee on Navy by Mr Gbajabiamila in 2019.
