The struggle to succeed Tajudeen Abbas as speaker of the 10th National Assembly has assumed a new dimension as the disgruntled hopefuls look to forge a consensus candidate.
Recall that a group of disgruntled lawmakers, including Muktar Betara, Idris Wase, Aminu Jaji, Alhassan Doguwa, and Sada Soli, established an alliance to oppose Abbas, the candidate Bola Tinubu, the incoming president, favoured.
According to Bendelnews, the group had started the process of finding a candidate who was supported by everyone.
On Friday, Betara reiterated this, saying that the organisation is putting up effort to develop the next Speaker.
"We can choose the candidate from among ourselves, but we'll all have to agree on it in a group setting. I can guarantee you all that God would only appoint one person to serve as Speaker.
"I can tell you that there won't be any problems. We will decide to support one of us in becoming the Speaker, he declared.
But earlier, Abbas and the Joint Task, the Femi Gbajabiamila-aligned faction, went to the vice president-elect to mediate in the conflict.
Abbas claimed there was a dialogue going on with Wase, Betara, Onuoha, and others during the Abuja meeting.
"I'll do my best to get in touch with the other candidates. My brother is Rt Hon Betara. We both hail from the same state and subregion, and I get along with him the best of anyone. I will maintain that I first met him two nights ago.
"I met with Rt. Hon Wase, the deputy speaker, today at 1 o'clock. We'll keep up the engagements so that the Assembly is free of grudges, he said.
Bendelnews has learned that Shettima and Abdulahi Adamu have been under pressure to put an end to the mutiny in the House.
Despite hailing from the same Borno State as Betara, Shettima has been rather silent over the speakership race. To address the matter, several party leaders have turned to him.
Shettima, who hails from Borno State, is currently a representative for Borno Central in the National Assembly.
Party members think Betara has an advantage over the competition and that his withdrawal will make the opposition weaker.
The National Chairman, Abdulahi Adamu, and the Deputy Chairman, Suleiman Kyari, are under similar pressure to step in, this paper has also learned.
Kyari is from Borno State, while Adamu comes from the same part of North Central as Wase and Gagdi.
However, there is a void once more in the absence of the President-elect Bola Tinubu,and the decisions on the race appears too be facing uncertainty untill his return..