Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has announced plans to seek a re-election into the National Assembly come 2019.

Dogara announced his decision on Tuesday while addressing his constituents at his Abuja residence.

The Speaker said he was already contemplating stepping aside, having represented the constituency for almost 12 years.

He, however, said he was overwhelmed by the show of solidarity from his supporters, noting that because of their “sacrifice”, he will once again represent them.

“I am shocked and surprised because I never thought or imagined that when I woke up today, I will see this mammoth crowd in my house.

“I am seeing faces of people we started this journey with since 2007. I pray God rewards you for this sacrifice. I was almost tired, having doing the same thing for almost 12 years now”.

While stating that some people had already started rejoicing over reports that he would not run again, he reaffirmed his commitment to attracting development to the area and creating opportunities for the people to thrive.

He said, “Nobody can impose leadership on you. Only you, our people, can choose who will represent you.

“I want to assure you that whatever you want us to do that is what we will do. Those who have said that they will retire us from politics, I want to tell them that we have just begun.

“We will continue to attract development to our area; build roads, hospitals, schools and create opportunities for our people to thrive.”