*say no rift between Speaker and former Campaign DG

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA-Adhoc Committee on Media and Publicity of the House of Representatives on Friday applauded the action of Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila in the allocation of Committees, saying the exercise was fair and balanced.

Hon. Emmanuel Agbaje (right), representing Akoko-Edo Constituency II, being sworn-in as member of the Edo State House of Assembly, on Wednesday, July 3, 2019

The Committee said that the Speaker by that singular development has fulfilled his earlier promise to give 60 committees to the main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and other minority political parties in the House.

It will be recalled that Gbajabiamila on Thursday announced the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of 109 Standing and Special Committees.

Briefing Journalists in the aftermath of the announcement, a member of the adhoc Media Committee, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi said that the speculations that the Speaker reneged on his promises to the members of minority political parties were unfounded.

He said: “Mr. Speaker has given 21 committees to the PDP members, 4 other committees to other minority political parties and 30 deputy chairman of committees. If Mr. Speaker had promised to allocate 60 positions to minority parties and he gave 21 and 30 making 51 plus of APGA, AA, ADC, it means he has given 58, 58 and 60, they are almost the same.

“People peddling the rumour that Mr. Speaker had promised to give 60 and he didn’t give 60, Mr. Speaker promised members of the minority political parties and he kept to that promise by given them if you put together the special committees of ECOWAS Parliament and what have you, the Speaker has appointed 64 members of the minority political parties to sensitive position that he had announced yesterday (Thursday).

“The man tried his best in balancing positions that take recognition of our diversity in terms of our geopolitical zones”.

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Responding to the feelings of a possible rift between the Speaker and his erstwhile Campaign Director-General, Hon. Abdulmumuni Jubrin whose name did not come in the announcement of the committees, Gagdi said there is no animosity whatever between both men.

He said that Jubrin was being programmed for a bigger appointment.

“Regarding his Director-General of his campaign, Hob. Abdulmumuni Jubril, there is nothing between Mr. Jubril and Mr. Speaker. They are working together and perhaps, Mr. Jubrin is going to be considered for something that is bigger than the Committee of the National Assembly. This is the information that will go a long in reducing the criticism against the action of Mr. Speaker.”

Giving more insights on why the House of Representatives was yet to assume the function of Edo State House of Assembly after the expiration of the one week ultimatum given to Governor Godwin Obaseki to issue a new proclamation order to the “proper” inauguration of the House, Gagdi said that the lower chamber was waiting for the Senate to harmonise their position on the crisis.

“The House of Representatives is not God. We make mistakes. I am not saying that our decisions for approving the recommendations of the Committee that investigated Edo State Assembly crisis which I am a member of… We gave one week upon which the governor should act. Failure to do so, we invoke Section 11(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that donates power to the House of Representatives to do the needful whenever there is crisis.

“But be that as it may, if you look at Bauchi State investigation, there is one item that is added to that of Bauchi. The House transmits its recommendation to the Senate.

“In a situation, where there are two committees are in place by the House of Representatives and the Senate, I think the position needs to be put together by the two organs of the national assembly before any other thing and that is why Bauchi gave one month and Mr Speaker equally considered that they should be treated the same way.

“The report for Edo too should be harmonised with that of the Senate after which we will wait and see if the position of the Senate concurs with that of the House of Representatives. And from the day the Senate takes position on two states and the governors refuse to act in that direction, definitely, we are going to employ the service of section 11, subsection 4 of the Constitution as amended”, Gagdi explained.