Nilo: I never received an invitation from the governor.
The president of the Legislative Assembly, Deputy Marcelo Nilo (PSL), denies having been invited by Governor Rui Costa to assume a secretariat in the mini-reform he will carry out; the alleged invitation was revealed by Vice-Governor João Leão; according to Leão, the condition for Nilo to go to the government would be that he withdraw his candidacy for the presidency of the Assembly; however, in addition to denying the invitation, Nilo says he would not accept it (if there were one); "The governor has never offered me any secretariat. And if he offers it to me, I will not accept it. I would feel very honored, but I cannot accept. I have already made a commitment to 31 deputies and I cannot fail to honor that commitment," says the deputy.
Bahia 247 - The president of the Legislative Assembly of Bahia (ALBA), Deputy Marcelo Nilo (PSL), denies that he was invited by Governor Rui Costa (PT) to assume a secretariat in the mini-reform that he will carry out until mid-January. The alleged invitation was revealed by the vice-governor and Secretary of Planning of the State (Seplan), João Leão (PP).
According to Leão, the condition for Nilo to join the government would be for him to withdraw his candidacy for president of the Assembly (he is in his fifth consecutive term and is running for another). In addition to denying the invitation, the president of the Legislative Assembly stated that he would not accept it (if it were offered).
"First of all, Governor Rui Costa has never offered me any secretary position. And if he does, I will not accept it. I would feel very honored, but I cannot accept. I have already made a commitment to 31 deputies and I cannot fail to honor that commitment," stated Marcelo Nilo in an interview with the newspaper Tribuna da Bahia. The 31 parliamentarians he refers to are those who have already guaranteed him support in the race for the presidency of the Assembly.
The congressman also commented on the criticism from João Leão and Senator Otto Alencar (PSD) regarding his long tenure as head of the Assembly. Nilo says he doesn't care. "Not at all. I have great respect for both of them (Leão and Otto). They can criticize me. I'm not going to criticize anyone. They have the right to say whatever they want. I have great respect for both of them, but I'm very calm about my candidacy."
Marcelo Nilo took the opportunity to praise his two opponents, deputies Ângelo Coronel (PP) and Luiz Augusto (PSD). "They are two great competitors. Before, I was working 10 hours a day for the presidency of the Assembly. Now, with their candidacies, I've started working 20 hours a day to beat them. They both know the parliament very well. They work hard and know the House well," said the deputy.