My agenda for House of Reps, by Gbajabiamila

The race for the Speaker of the House of Representatives has begun in earnest. Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila is a leading contender for the coveted seat. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the chances of the fifth-term legislator when the new National Assembly is inaugurated in June.

House of Representatives Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila has announced his intention to run for Speaker when the Green Chamber is inaugurated in June. He ran in 2015, but lost to Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

With 211 of the 360 members of the chamber belonging to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party has the numerical strength to determine who heads the House. The national caucus of the APC is believed to have endorsed Gbajabiamila for the job. It was also learnt that several meetings have been held in the past few days on how to prevail on other lawmakers elected on the platform of the party to support the House Leader.

At least 17 lawmakers, including the Dogara, are vying for the position. Others are Olusegun Odebunmi (Southwest), Garba Datti (Kaduna), Ado Doguwa (Kaduna), Babangida Ibrahim (Katsina), Suleiman Kawu (Kano), Sulaiman Aminu (Kano), Tahir Monguno (Borno) and Abdulrazaq Namdas (Adamawa). They also include Yusuf Buba Yakub (Adamawa), Mohammed Bago (Niger), John Dyegh (Benue), Idris Wase (Plateau), Abubakar Lado (Niger), Nkiruka Onyejeocha (Abia) and Chike Okafor (Imo).

Gbajabiamila, who represents Surulere Constituency 1, Lagos State, is the most experienced lawmaker in the House. While reeling out his credentials, the lawyer- turned politician said he was the most qualified among the aspirants, considering that he has occupied important positions since he was first elected in 2003.

He said: “With all sense of humility, I seek this office with a rich legislative background and pedigree and having just won a historic 5th term mandate to the House, I have in the last 16 years dedicated my life to the service of my constituents and Nigeria. I have studied and understood the intricate workings of the legislature. In these 16 years, I have been a principal officer for 12 years. It is this wealth of experience and burning desire for good governance that I bring to the table.

“The House of Representatives was established to be the people’s House and for the people’s business. It follows, therefore, that the Speaker must be the people’s Speaker elected to do the people’s business and champion their cause and in doing so fulfilling their hopes and aspiration. This is the Speaker I intend and hope to be and the House I intend and hope to lead, a People’s House.”

Gbajabiamila’s declaration has been supported by members of the House, cutting across geo-political zones and party lines. Many of them have spoken in support of his candidacy. The Chief Whip of the House and an aspirant of the office who may have been tipped for the office of the Majority Leader, Ado Doguwa, said Gbajabiamila was a team player. The lawmaker from Kaduna assured that the Northwest will give the Southwest and Nigeria one of their best too.

Doguwa said: “Gbajabiamila is a team player. He is as simple as ABC. He is the most qualified aspirant. I want to assure you that we are here on the commitment of our people. Femi will be Speaker for each and every one of us. We will give you one of our best.”

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker from Imo, Jerry Alagbosa, advised the aspirant to consult widely amongst the lawmakers for their support. He advised Gbajabiamila to make commitment for the Southeast and South-south zones.

He said: “All of us know Femi, but let me say, democracy is a process. It requires consultation and lobbying. Femi needs to come and meet elders like us. He needs to come and do the needful. Not matter of calling us on phone. For me, I’m going to support him. After the declaration, we need to see because I have to protect the interest of the Southeast and South-south.”

The Director-General of the Gbajabiamila Campaign Organisation, Abdulmumuni Jibrin, said the candidacy of his principal was not about him, but about sanitising and stabilising democracy. His words: “The candidacy of Femi is not about him himself, but about sanitising our democracy. It is about practising what we preach, global best practices. We make reference to the United States and United Kingdom. Why is it that we are very bad in practice?

“At the risk of sounding immodest, I will not be making a mistake if I say that Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila stands out as the best candidate we can offer. We are not taking the situation for granted. We will run a very clean campaign. We are not interested in throwing mud. For those who are interested in spreading rumours, we plead to them in the interest of peace. We beg them to run an issues-based campaign. We will lobby, we will campaign and we will reach out to our colleagues.

“We will continue to work hard, consult and continue to reach out and we call on every one to come and join hands with us. We assure you that Femi will be a Speaker for every member of the House. He will also ensure the independence of the legislature.”

The major problem for Gbajabiamila in the struggle to become Speaker is the re-election of Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State who worked for the emergence of Dogara in 2015 against Gbajabiamila. Tambuwal still has influence over some House of Representatives members from the North. Few months ago, the governor said the reason why the Lagos lawmaker lost to his opponent four years ago was because of his closeness to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and that Gbajabiamila was unpopular among his colleagues.

Tambuwal had initially said he had a strong affinity for Gbajabiamila but he endorsed Dogara due to his “proven competence” as Chairman of House Services Committee. In his reaction, Gbajabiamila said: “I was betrayed by Tambuwal. He was one of my closest friends when he ran for Speaker. I think I single-handedly pursued his speakership bid. But he must have reasons why he did what he did. That must be respected; I just wished he had made that known.”

Asked if he had spoken to Tambuwal since 2015, he said: “No I have not, I am not crossing paths with him, he is in Sokoto and I’m in Abuja. You might want to direct that question to him. Who do you think should be reaching out to whom?”

The opponents of Gbajabiamila premised their arguments on two issues: One is that two national positions cannot be ceded to the Southwest. The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, is from the region. The other is the religious sentiment that Senator Ahmed Lawan, the approved Senate President by the APC national caucus and Gbajabiamila are both Muslims and therefore, should not be allowed to occupy the Senate President and Speaker seats.

However, Gbajabiamila is forging ahead in his bid to become Speaker in the next dispensation. His effort received a boost from the Northwest few days ago where a pressure group under the aegis of Northwest Democratic Front (NDF) has openly endorsed him as the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 9th Assembly. The group Chairman, Abubakar Aminu, said “in line with the commitment of the APC leadership to rewarding loyalty and integrity, Mr Gbajabiamila would make a great Speaker”.

Aminu, a former Chairman, Sokoto State chapter of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), said: “On behalf of the people of the Northwest, we hereby endorse the declaration of Femi Gbajabiamila to run for office of the Speaker of the 9th Assembly.

“Our endorsement is in line with the spirit of members of the House which was displayed when Gbajabiamila, the House Leader and a five-time legislator, made his formal declaration. We are convinced that Gbajabiamila would mentor the next generation and unite the nation. This informs our recommendation for Musa Sarkin Adar, another strong nationalist, to be made Deputy Speaker.”

Similarly, all the 24 newly elected House of Representatives members from Kano State have pledged their support for Gbajabiamila as the next Speaker of the Green Chamber of the National Assembly. Their decision was reached at a meeting with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje in Abuja.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Doguwa, said their move was in deference to the decision of National Working Committee of the APC on the zoning of the position to the Southwest.

Doguwa who won re-election from Tudun Wada/Doguwa Federal Constituency said: “All the 24 of us discussed freely, as elected representatives of the people and agreed to endorse the candidature of Femi Gbajabiamila for Speakership, under the watch of our governor, Dr Ganduje, and the state chairman of the party.”

A member representing Taurani Constituency, Hafiz Kawu, said what makes Gbajabiamila different from members vying the speaker is his wealth of legislative experience. He recalled that Gbajabiamila is a four-time returnee to the Green Chamber (2003 to 2019). He was the Deputy Minority Leader in the 6th assembly and emerged as Minority Leader in the 7th assembly and Majority Leader in the 8th assembly.

Kawu added: “Aside his eloquence and tactical approach to issues in the House, Gbajabiamila maintains an enviable track record. Having sponsored a myriad of bills in the National Assembly, he is seen as one of the brilliant minds to have graced the chamber.

“The Green Chamber is expected to be led by a person with considerable legislative experience and expertise to preside over its affairs and also weather the storm at any given time. If the postulation is anything to go by, Gbajabiamila can be entrusted with such a challenging responsibility, considering the fact that the nation’s democracy is in dire need of reforms that will have far-reaching positive impact on Nigerians.”

Even though the support for Gbajabiamiala cuts across party lines, analysts say the national leadership of the APC should not allow a repeat of the 2015 episode where few over ambitious members of the party teamed up with the opposition to take over the leadership of the National Assembly. Several lawmakers have expressed displeasure with the way and manner the APC is handling the leadership of the 9th Assembly. They warned that the ruling party is on the verge of making the same mistake it made in 2015.

Odebunmi, an APC lawmaker representing Ogo-Oluwa Constituency, in Oyo State, said his party would be making a major mistake, if the national leadership does not give all aspirants a level-playing field to vie for the position. The lawmaker, said: “It is being rumoured that the APC may likely zone the speakership seat to the Southwest, which means every qualified member from the zone can contest. Gbajabiamila has not been named as the party’s candidate. I have not got information to that effect. I was at the meeting called by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) and nothing of such was mentioned.”

He stressed the need for the party to act decisively by zoning all principal positions in the House to appropriate geo-political zones. This, he said, would reduce tension and confusion in the polity.