By Valentine Amanze
Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has extolled the leadership qualities of the Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, with regard to enforcing sanity and restoring the dignity of the House of Representatives.
In a statement by the media aide to the governor, Mr. Oguwike Nwachuku, Governor Uzodinma made the commendation while welcoming the Speaker and some Principal Officers of the House in his office Monday.
The governor expressed happiness with the stability in the Lower Legislative Chamber.
His words: “We knew that if you emerged as the Speaker, the narrative would be different. People are beginning to appreciate that thing we said. Now the House is very stable, politics is less and governance has taken its pride of place. We now have a strong parliament.”
On the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Uzodimma called on the leadership of the House to wade into the issue with a view to resolving it.
“I invite you not to fold your hands and allow the challenges in our party to continue. We need a stable party, and we need to show Nigerians that we are organized as a party and that their mandate given to us must be protected. We don’t need to be rough; we have to convince Nigerians that we are guiding the government and party.”
The Governor also called on the party members who are aggrieved to sheath their swords, stressing: “A winning team is a winning team and we must follow due process in everything we do both as a government, in the party and even outside the party. The rule of law governs democracy and we must work together to protect our democracy.
While assuring the Speaker of the readiness of the government to partner with the House, Governor Uzodimma appealed to Gbajabiamila to carry lawmakers from Imo along in the scheme of things for the overall interest of the state.
Gbajabiamila, who earlier congratulated the governor on his Supreme Court victory, commended him for the support and cooperation he is giving to the House of Representatives members from the state.
Wishing the governor success in the next four years, the speaker expressed confidence that Governor Uzodimma will do the party proud in Imo and pledged the cooperation of the leadership of the House of Representatives to his government.
“We wish you years and even beyond of good leadership, good governance, we know you, we know your mettle, we know your worth, we know what you are capable of doing. I have no doubt in mind that you will surpass even our expectations of you,” he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Hope Uzodinma has challenged
to use their potentials to press forward the holistic development by bringing to the fore their intellectual and motherly endowments, and by so doing moderate the excesses of humanity.
The governor made the appeal in a message to mark this year’s International Women’s Day. He noted that as mothers, “women have a critical role in charting the course of development through positive engagement with government and other stakeholders.”
The International Women Day is a day set aside by the United Nations to globally celebrate the social, economic and cultural achievements of women, as well as celebrate gender equality. The theme for this year 2020 is “Each For Equal: An equal world is an enabled world.”
