Reports from House of Representatives Tuesday morning said the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers came close to exchanging blows in a free-for-all over House Speaker Yakubu Dogara.
The cause of the crisis is unclear but it may be connected with the 96 House committees inaugurated Monday which were boycotted by a faction of the lawmakers loyal to House Leader Femi Gbajabiamila.
Details soon…..
Gbajabiamila faction seeks reversal of Reps c’ttees chairs
Meantime, on Monday, the leadership crisis in the House of Representatives continued to fester as the House Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila and some of his loyalists boycotted the formal inauguration of the 96 Standing Committees of the House.
Gbajabiamila’s action was described as “unfortunate” by the House leadership.
Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi, speaking to journalists about Gbajabiamila’s boycott, said: “I do not know why he was absent, but I believe it was for a good cause.”
Gbefwi said Nigeria was bigger than any individual.
“Time has been wasted on several things…when you walk into that chamber, it’s not about party anymore. We swore allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, not to our respective parties; it is therefore about the progress of Nigeria. The wheel of governance is spinning and Nigeria would begin its upward move,” Gbefwi said.
Some All Progressives Congress (APC) members maintain that the composition and quality of the headships of the committees were skewed in favour of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members whose support helped Dogara become Speaker against Gbajabiamila, who was supported by the party.
When the 96 Standing Committee chairmen and their deputies were appointed, APC got 48 to PDP’s 45. In a further breakdown, APC got 55 deputy chairmen while PDP caucus accounted for 39.
But the aggrieved members, who called themselves “Loyal Party Members,” the loyalists of the House majority leader and Dogara’s arch-rival, Femi Gbajabiamila have warned the Speaker to immediately re-constitute the Standing Committees or face the consequences.
At a press conference addressed by Musa Sarkin Adar in company of about 25 other lawmakers after a marathon meeting at the APC national secretariat in Abuja on Monday, the group also accused Dogara of consistently taking the ruling party for granted.
They said, “The composition of headships of committees must be seen for what it is: a declaration of war against the APC and the Presidency – all calculated at sabotaging the majority advantage that APC enjoys, with ultimate aim of rolling back the electoral victory of our party.
“The composition of chairmen and deputy chairmen of Committees are clear manifestations of the marginalization of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).”
Meanwhile, Dogara, in his speech while inaugurating the committees, threatened to go after committee heads who engage in corrupt practices. He said the 8th House was committed to the anti-corruption fight of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
“We are committed to the anti-corruption fight of the present administration; therefore each Committee of the House is expected to lead this fight through their legislative actions. The Constitution has specifically reposed in the National Assembly, not the Executive, the duty and responsibility to ‘expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it’. (S.88 (2)b.).
“The Committees remain the most important mechanism for carrying out this solemn constitutional mandate. The leadership of the House will, consequently, be very sensitive to any report of wrongdoing or corrupt practices by any member or leadership of a committee,” Dogara said.
The Speaker also defended his decision to increase the number of Standing Committees from 89 in the immediate-past 7th House to 96 despite fears raised in some quarters on the cost implication.
“Some commentators have decried the large number of committees as being unwieldy and non-cost effective. This criticism, even though apparently well intentioned, misses the point. Experience gained from the operation of Committees since 1999 shows that some Committees’ functions and mandates are very wide indeed and cannot be effectively supervised and over-sighted by a single Committee,” Dogara said.
The Speaker countered media reports on how some members got ‘Juicy Committees’ and some didn’t.
“Let me use this opportunity to restate that there is nothing like juicy committees or non-juicy committees. I personally do not understand what is meant by that. If it means opportunity to contribute, we can assure you that every member of a Committee would enjoy ample and equal opportunity. Every Committee of the House is very important and is designed to handle specific functions for the House and on behalf of the Nigerian people who elected us.”
We cannot afford to fail Nigerians – Saraki tells Senators
Meanwhile, the Senate President Bukola Saraki charged the Senate committee heads to be above board and ensure effective oversight of the government MDAs under their watch.
Saraki: “As the highest lawmaking body in the country, we have a huge task ahead of us – to find answers to our numerous problems.
“The committee system is the veritable tool that helps to organize the most important works, including considering, shaping, and passing our laws. They remain the most potent system for oversight and, therefore, anti-corruption.
“In this vein, therefore, may I enjoin the new committees to operate above board. This has become necessary as we seek to re-engineer our economy and introduce a new regime of openness, efficiency, probity and institutional integrity. We cannot afford to fail Nigerians. Our citizens have demanded change and we must give it to them through cooperation and diligence. The legislative agendas of both chambers converge in so many ways. I wish to use this opportunity to also solicit that we speedily dispatch issues for which we have consensus and reduce the time taken to pass critical legislation before us,” Saraki said.
-Leadership