Blows, slaps as Dogara, Gbajabiamila’s supporters fight over House c’ttees

ABUJA — The agitation by the nation’s federal lawmakers for supremacy and juicy committee positions boiled over, yesterday, when two members of the House of Representatives exchanged blows minutes before the day’s plenary session.

Femi Gbajabiamila

The exchange of blows caused the legislators to defer sitting and resort to caucuses during which a resolution was taken by the mainstream of the House to bring sanctions on House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila and his 23 loyalists who boycotted Monday’s inauguration of the House Committees.

That decision was, however, tempered following pleas at a closed door session between Gbajabiamila and some principal officers of the House in the speaker’s office.

Also yesterday in the Senate, muttering over the sharing of committee positions again reopened the fault lines as supporters of the Senate Presidency bid of Senator Ahmad Lawan accused Senate President Bukola Saraki of surrendering the chambers to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The melee in the House was upon the bad blood that followed the boycott of the inauguration of the 96 standing committees by House Leader, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, and his close loyalists.

 

Exchange of blows

It was gathered that trouble started when the newly inaugurated Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Rep Herman Hembe, representing APC, Konshisha/Vandekiya, Benue State, a close loyalist of the speaker, engaged Rep. Magaji Aliyu, APC, Birnin-Kudu/Buji, Jigawa State, a supporter of Gbajabiamila, over the sharing of the committees.

A slap was said to have followed when one of the two men could no longer control his emotion and the situation was said to have been quickly brought under control by the intervention of the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun.

Tempers also overflowed on account of alleged moves by allies of Speaker Yakubu Dogara and those of Gbajabiamila to effect sanctions upon the other.

At the closed door session of the APC caucus, it was gathered that members resolved to remove Gbajabiamila as House Leader and refer his 23 loyalists who boycotted the Monday inauguration of the committees to the Privileges Committee of the House.

That move was, however, rescinded after a peace meeting between Gbajabiamila and the speaker attended by some principal officers of the House.

Yakubu Dogara

Sources privy to the development said Gbajabiamila had entered the speaker’s office and requested for a one-on-one meeting with the speaker but the other principal officers present were said to have refused and insisted on partaking in the meeting.

Among the principal officers present at the meeting were Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lashun; Minority Leader, Leo Ogor and Chief Whip, Ado Doguwa.

At the end of the interaction, the speaker was said to have promised to prevail on his supporters not to apply the sanctions as canvassed by the mainstream of the House against Gbajabiamila and his loyalists.

Gbajabiamila in an SMS response to Vanguard on the development said last night:“The Speaker and I, both know we will both look bad and no one will be the winner if there is ever another fight on the floor. The numbers are simply not there to remove any principal officer.”

 

It was a meeting

for APC family

Doguwa who briefed newsmen on the outcome of the APC caucus meeting said yesterday: “This was a meeting for the APC family, a meeting we intended to address ourselves that enough is enough of the misunderstanding among the APC family.

“I want to tell you precisely that by what we did yesterday, the flight of the 8th House of Representatives has taken off, it has not only taken off, it has taken off very successfully and it is a flight that is a four-year bound air flight, with Dogara as the pilot.

“I want to tell that we have maintained the status quo for now and Femi (Gbajabiamila) is our leader in the House of Representatives and even the speculations made earlier on that there is a move to remove Femi as our leader is unfounded and it is not from the leadership of the House or the APC.

“I also want to tell you that this morning I had a very close consultations with the leaders of the party, specifically Senator Lawali Shuaibu, who is the deputy leader of the APC in Nigeria and we have told them that there is no cause for alarm in the House of Representatives and we are moving as one.

“There is no two way about unity, this party was founded on the basis of unity and the House of Representatives as it is today is very much poised and ready  to work with Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari, to deliver the change mantra we have promised  Nigerians.”

 

Gbajabiamila camp denies  plot to remove Dogara

Associates of Gbajabiamila were also quick to denounce alleged plots against Speaker Dogara, particularly an alleged meeting in Atlanta, United States of America.

“No such meeting was held in the US. Rather, the leader (Gbajabiamila) visited Brazil where he met his family. I repeat there is no plan to remove Dogara by Gbajabiamila men,” an associate of Dogara said yesterday.

“It was a concoction of Dogara’s men to get juicy committees. They have built a garrison around Dogara that only those close to him can advise him. In short, they have caged him.

However, a member of the House, Rep Mustapha Bala Dawaki, has denounced agitations for committee positions, saying that committee chairmanship is a privilege and not the right of any lawmaker.

He said “the primary responsibility of any lawmaker here in the 8th Assembly is to adequately represent his constituency not committee chairmanship.”

Dawaki, who represents Dawakin Kudu/Warawa, APC, Kano,  described the move as in bad taste “as no lawmaker was elected by his people to come here to fight for committee chairmanship or the so-called elusive juicy committees.”

 

Saraki asked to apologise to Nigerians

Meanwhile, anger among loyalists of Senator Lawan in the Senate over the composition of the committees also boiled over at a press conference in the Senate building, yesterday.

Speaking under the aegis of Senate Unity Forum, spokesman of the group, Senator Kabiru Marafa, APC, Zamfara Central, however, shied away from saying any member of his group would resign from the committee positions assigned to him.

Affirming that tyranny had taken over the Senate, he urged Senate President Saraki to apologise to Nigerians for “abuse of the Constitution” and for increasing number of committees beyond the statutory provisions.

Trouble started shortly after Votes and Proceedings of the last Wednesday’s sitting was approved by the Senate. Senator Marafa, who cited a number of Constitutional Orders and the Senate Standing Order submitted that the constitution of the committees should be reversed as they failed to meet the benchmark.

According to Senator Marafa, the Senate Selection Committee chaired by the Senate President, was not duly constituted, in accordance with provisions of the Standing Order, saying as such, the committees they put together were null and void.

He also asserted that failure of the Senate President to comply with Section 100 of the Senate Standing Rules, which provides for Senate approval of the committees before they can go into operation, saying such development had also nullified the efforts of the Senate Selection Committee.

He insisted that the committees were not subject to the approval of all senators in plenary. He said that the Selection Committee was not properly constituted in that it was made up mainly of new senators, flouting the standing order, which specified that it should be constituted based on ranking.

 

Legislative tyranny

Hear him: “What we are witnessing today in the National Assembly and the Senate in particular is legislative tyranny, where impunity wants to be the order of the day.

“Laws are meant to be respected and if we can treat our Order with impunity, then we have no business being here.

“There is no committee. They are not legally constituted and they cannot function. Any further action is unacceptable to Nigerians and I have discharged that responsibility.”

Speaking in the same vein, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, APC, Kaduna North, said there were procedures for constituting standing committees.

Hunkuyi, who was appointed Vice Chairman, Federal Character Commission and Inter-Governmental Affairs, said there was no resolution on the committees at plenary.

But reacting to the allegations, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Publicity,  Abdullahi Sabi, said the committees were approved during the adoption of votes and proceedings.

According to him, no lawmaker had the power to declare any proceeding in the House null and void because they were not judges.

Blows, slaps as Dogara, Gbajabiamila’s supporters fight over House c’ttees

Crisis, as Dogara ushers in 96 House committees

ABUJA — The 96 new standing committees of the House of Representatives were yesterday inaugurated at a session boycotted by the House leader, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila.

Reflective of the continuing schism in the House, Gbajabiamila’s loyalists turned up at the national headquarters of the All Progressives Congress, APC where they accused Speaker Yakubu Dogara of mortgaging the interest of the party to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and of being in cahoots with the opposition party to derail the change mantra that brought the APC to power.

Yakubu Dogara

They fumed that besides splitting the leadership of the committees with the opposition PDP, Dogara allowed opposition House members to take control of sensitive House committees.

Loyalists of the speaker rebuffed the claim yesterday as they gave note of their readiness to frontally dismiss the insinuations today.

Speaker Dogara who side-stepped the rebellion from the House leader at the inauguration ceremony, nevertheless frontally addressed other criticisms arising from the increase in the number of the committees. Present at the joint inauguration of the committees were Senate President, Bukola Saraki, former principal and presiding officers, Head of Service, Service Chiefs, Civil Society Organisations as well as traditional rulers.

Saraki, in a goodwill message at the ceremony affirmed that the National Assembly would not allow itself to be a platform for the promotion of interests against the common good.

Dogara who vowed that any under-performing committee official would be removed said the joint inauguration of the 96 committees was to enable them to hit the ground running. He also dismissed insinuations that some committees termed juicy were of more material benefit.

He said: “The decision to formally inaugurate all the Committees at once is borne out of the need for them to hit the ground running. It is also informed by the need to save cost and reduce legislative time that may be spent in inaugurating each Committee independently.

“Some commentators have decried the large number of Committees as being unwieldy and non cost effective. This criticism, 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 oversighted by a single committee.

“For instance, the House split the Committee on Education into two, namely: Basic Education and Services and Tertiary Education and Services.”

He said that the old Committee on Education had a mandate to oversight the budget and policy issues of 104 unity schools, 22 federal colleges of education, 36 federal universities and 24 federal polytechnics. Stressing that the committee also had 25 other government agencies and all aspects of education in Nigeria, he further explained,

“There is no way a single committee can adequately oversight all these agencies with House members also attending to other issues in plenary sessions, like law-making and other representational responsibilities.”

He said the Standing Orders of the House enjoined Special and Standing Committees, to create Sub–Committees as may be required and to appoint Sub- Committee Chairmen, in consultation with the Speaker.

He said this had led to friction between chairmen of substantive committees and chairmen of sub-committees and that  in order to avoid gridlock, even though the committees were still expected to have sub-committees, effort had been made to create substantive committees where necessary in order to devote more attention to issues of priority to the House.

“Undoubtedly, the legislature remains the only institution with appropriate constitutional and statutory powers to check the executive branch and ensure that it discharges its mandate to the full benefit of all Nigerians.

“It is important to note that the Change promised Nigerians can only endure and outlive any government that introduced it only when it is anchored on legislation and not mere policy. Policy can easily be changed by an incoming government.

“Change itself must be regulated, so that our people would not face the dangers of unregulated change. That is why the legislative institution is central to the future we seek as a people.

“It is necessary to point out that the splitting of committees has not resulted in increased cost of running the house. The committee clerks and other staff of the committees are sourced from the existing pool of staff that are paid salaries and allowances already by the National Assembly.

“The committee members are already paid salaries also by the National Assembly. No person gets an increased remuneration by virtue of appointment as a committee member or chairman.The National Assembly budget has not been increased as a result.

“The situation in the Legislature is slightly different from the situation in the executive branch where creating a new agency or ministry may lead to increased costs of running the offices.”

On the issue of juicy and non-juicy committees, Speaker Dogara said:

“Let me use this opportunity to restate that there is nothing like juicy committee or non-juicy committee. 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.”

Inauguration unique, says Saraki

In his goodwill message, Senator Saraki said the inauguration was unique as it signposts the readiness and commitment of the National Assembly comprising the House and the Senate to innovative lawmaking.

He said, “It will be recalled that for the first time in the history of the National Assembly the two chambers of the House and the Senate separately forged and adopted legislative agenda to guide its activities in order to give the 8th National Assembly ambition, direction and a national goal towards socio-economic and political reforms.

“To all Nigerians I say this, as your representatives, we owe you not only our hard-work, but our judgment. This National Assembly will not be a parliament of ambassadors from different and hostile interests; which interests we maintain as agents and advocates against one another in perpetual conflict.

“Rather, the 8th National Assembly will remain a united, deliberative assembly of one nation, with one interest, that of the whole nation, not local prejudices or affiliations but working for the public good with collective purpose.”

While Rep. Austine Chukwukere representing Ideato Federal Constituency commended the Speaker for carrying everybody along irrespective of tribe or political affiliation, the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Jonathan Gaza could not provide explanations for the absence of the Majority Leader, especially as he was scheduled on the order paper.

Gaza while reacting to questions on why Gbajabiamila was not  present at the inauguration, said, “I do not know why he was absent, but I believe it was for a good cause.”

He described as unfortunate, reports that some aggrieved members boycotted the inauguration, stating that Nigeria should be bigger than any individual.

He said: “Time has been wasted on several things…when you walk into that chamber, it’s not about parties 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.”

In a lecture at the inauguration, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche declared that standing committees of the National Assembly enhance the efficiency and performance of the legislature in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities.

Speaking on the theme: “The role of committees in a presidential system of government,” he said globally, parliaments were relying more on committees to discharge their functions and to operate more efficiently.

Meanwhile, Dogara’s loyalists stormed the national secretariat just as the inauguration got underway to protest what they claimed as the plot by the speaker to devalue the APC brand in the House.

Following a  closed door meeting with members of the National Working Committee, NWC of the party at the national secretariat in Abuja, the lawmakers who operated under the aegis of “APC House Loyal Members”, affirmed that it was against democratic principles to share committees equally with the opposition.

Crisis, as Dogara ushers in 96 House committees

House Of Reps: PDP mobilizes for a showdown against APC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is mobilizing its members in the  House of Representatives for a possible showdown with the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) over moves by the APC national Chairman, Chief  John Odigie-Oyegun to intervene in the crisis sparked by the recent constitution of the House standing committees.

Yakubu Dogara

House Leader Femi Gbajabiamila and his supporters claim they and the APC were short changed by Speaker Yakubu Dogara in the appointment of chairmen and vice chairmen for the committees.

Dogara, according to them, conceded too many positions to the PDP, and therefore want a redress.

The matter has already reached Odigie-Oyegun who, according to party sources, is disposed to intervening in the matter.

This, it was gathered, is now generating concern among PDP Reps who are crying external interference in the business of the Green Chamber of the National Assembly.

The APC National Chairman has  reportedly met separately with Dogara and Gbajabiamila to discuss the bad blood caused by the sharing of the committee positions although no settlement has been reached yet.

Of the 96 Standing Committee chairmen and their deputies appointed, the APC got 48 to PDP’s 45. The APC also got 55 Deputy chairmen while the PDP caucus was given 39.

The Speaker has consistently rejected calls to review the list of committee heads in a way that gives the APC a comfortable hold on the leadership House.

It was gathered that the APC national chairman had parleyed with Dogara and his deputy, Yussuf Lasun, hours after he earlier met and discussed at length with the Majority Leader at his Abuja residence. Both meetings,  according to reliable sources, centered on possible ways of resolving the lingering crisis.

One of the sources said: “It is very correct that the national chairman hosted and discussed with the Speaker and his Deputy. The duo came on the invitation of Chief Oyegun. They discussed the crisis generated by the sharing of the standing committees of the House of Representatives and sought possible ways of ending the crisis.”

The Chairman had earlier met with Gbajabiamila who   complained that he was not involved in the composition of the committees. The meeting also discussed allegations that the APC was not adequately catered for in the composition of the committees.

It was gathered that both meetings proffered ways of settling the rift between the two camps amicably before the inauguration of the standing committees this week by the Speaker.

“Following the two parleys, I want to believe that the issues raised will be addressed and resolved before the inauguration of the standing committees. Given the dispositions of all the parties at the meetings with the national chairman, it is convenient to say truce is in sight over the matter,” our source added.

But the PDP, according to reliable party sources, has instructed its members in the House to get ready to resist any external interference in the affairs of the Green chamber.

The Nation learnt that following reports of Odigie-Oyegun’s meeting with Dogara and Gbajabiamila, the leadership of the opposition party met with the PDP caucus in the House and urged them to reject any move by the leadership of the APC to resolve the crisis generated by the sharing of committee headships.

A source familiar with the development said:”worried that the APC might browbeat the Speaker into altering the composition of the committees, the PDP had called on its caucus in the House to resist all forms of external interference in the activities of the lower chamber. The call was made in Abuja when the leadership of the party met with some PDP legislators on the matter.

“While we are not interested in what transpired at the meetings, it is important to say that the PDP will not fold its hands and watch the APC interfere in the businesses of the national assembly at random by dishing out instructions to the leadership of the House on how to conduct its affairs.

“Concerning the composition of the committees, we want to believe the Speaker gave a good account of himself and he should stick with that. The leadership of our party recently raised the alarm on the need for us as federal legislators to prevent external interference in the running of the lower chamber. We intend to see to that.”

House Of Reps: PDP mobilizes for a showdown against APC

FG to slash Federal lawmakers’ salaries

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA—Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, Mr. Elias Mbam, disclosed yesterday that the Commission had started the process of trimming down the pay packages of the President, Senators, members of the House of Representatives, governors and all the elected public officials to reflect current economic realities.

Senate

Asked whether the parliamentarians would give a nod to the idea, the Chairman said it was a constitutional mandate, which no one should argue about.

He said: “We are here to brief the President on the activities of the commission, the challenges and the way forward.

“The President advised us to ensure that we use all legitimate means to ensure all public office holders take home remuneration as determined by the commission and also block all leakages.

“We have done a lot in informing the public on the true position of the remuneration packages. It is on our website; it is clearly written there and we have published these remuneration packages in many national dailies several times.

“We have also had interactions with the press at different fora.

“What we read on the pages of newspapers is not known to the commission because there is no member of the National Assembly, based on what we determined, who earns up to N1 million per month.

“Presently, we are reviewing the subsisting remuneration packages and it is going to reflect the socio-economic realities of today. We expect that before the end of next month, it will be ready.

“When I talk of packages, the responsibility of the commission is to determine the remuneration for political office holders, both elected and appointed, from the national level to the local government level.

“Of course, National Assembly members are elected. It will include them, it will include the judiciary, it will include the state legislature, executive and of course, the local government will be included.

“Recently, the oil price dropped. Many government agencies, the states and local governments have not been able to pay their salaries. These are some of the issues that made it necessarily to review it. It did not start with this administration; we started the review as far back as last year. It is not because of the present administration that we commenced it.

“They do not have a choice. We are guided by the constitution and we are going to be guided by such laws that are provided for in the constitution and the oath they swore to obey the laws of the country.”

Mbam, who recounted the challenges of the Commission to include insufficient funding, urged the authorities to amend the Act setting it up to grant its financial independence.

Asked when the new revenue sharing formula would be ready, the chairman said it was beyond his power to comment on.

He said: “One of the challenges is that the commission is not properly funded and we are saying that we expect that the commission should be one of the agencies of government that should have financial autonomy.

“The best way to do that is to include it as one of the agencies that will benefit from first line charge.

“The second is to give the commission the power of enforcement. They should review the Act establishing the commission so that it can have power of enforcement and sanctions on any of the defaulting MDAs.”

 

FG to slash Federal lawmakers’ salaries

22 ex-Reps besiege Dogara, Lasun’s offices for jobs

Up to 22 former members of the House of Representatives are presenting themselves for jobs to serve as aides to the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, and the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yusuf Lasun, The PUNCH learnt on Tuesday.

Yakubu Dogara

Investigations showed that at least six of the ex-lawmakers had been handed letters of engagement to serve as special advisers to Dogara and Lasun.

The majority of the job seekers were part of the 2011-2015 batch, members whose tenure at the National Assembly rounded off on June 5.

A senior member of the House disclosed to The PUNCH on Tuesday that some of the ex-members were “very supportive” in the run up to the election of the presiding officers of the House on June 9.

“The jostling for jobs here started long before now. Some of them worked in the speaker’s team before the election.

“This is like compensating them for the roles they played, but there are others who truly requested to serve as aides to Dogara and his deputy.

“Only a few have been confirmed really; there is no possibility that everyone will be on board. Many are still on the waiting list,” the official added.

However, one of the engaged aides, a former Chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions, Mr. Cyril Maduabum, was carried over from the 7th Assembly where he had served as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Speaker at the time, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha.

Findings indicated that among those Dogara and Lasun had engaged so far were a former Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Mr. Jerry Manwe, who was appointed as Chief of Staff to Dogara.

He was allegedly considered for the job ahead of another former younger ex-lawmaker on the grounds that Manwe was “more experienced in administrative matters”, besides being a very close friend.

The younger former member, who once served as the deputy chairman of a popular House committee in the 7th Assembly, is said to be among those still on the awaiting list.

On his side, Lasun had appointed a former member from Ekiti State, Mr. Bimbo Daramola, as his chief of staff.

Daramola was formerly the Director-General of the campaign organisation of a former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, in the last governorship poll.

Similarly, a former Chairman, House Committee on Science and Technology, Mr. Abiodun Akinlade, is the Special Adviser on Special Duties to the deputy speaker.

Another former Chairman on Youth Matters, Mr. Kamil Akinlabi, is also a special adviser to Lasun.

But, when contacted, some of the members described as “erroneous” any impression that they were scrambling for the positions.

For example, Akinlade told The PUNCH that their services were needed as experienced legislators to help the presiding officers to stabilise the House.

“This is not even about saying we are looking for jobs or something. That is not correct.

“Some of us have up to 12 years of experience in the House; so, the experience will help the system.

“If you go to the Senate, you will see a similar trend of keeping some experienced hands behind”, he added.

The Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, did not comment on the issue when his reactions were sought.

However, the Chief Press Secretary to Lasun, Mr. Wole Oladimeji, defended the decision of his boss to hire ex-members as his aides.

He told The PUNCH that Lasun merely kept a tradition of retaining some ex-members to serve as advisers to presiding officers.

“This is not new; since the days of (Aminu) Masari, some former members do serve as advisers or work for the presiding officers,” Oladimeji stated.

A source at Dogara’s office also claimed that about six ex-members served as aides to the immediate past Speaker of the House, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal.

One of them was Mr. Sada Soli, who served as Tambuwal’s chief of staff.

22 ex-Reps besiege Dogara, Lasun’s offices for jobs

Reps summon CBN gov over dollar deposits

The House of Representatives on Tuesday summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, over the apex bank’s decision to bar deposit banks from accepting cash dollar deposits.

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele

The House resolution simply directed Emefiele to appear before the House to “explain the confusing policy.”

It was a day the House passed a separate motion seeking to investigate and “ascertain the state of Nigeria’s economy.”

A member from Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Emmanuel Ekon, who drew the attention of the House to the foreign exchange policy under matters of urgent public importance, said different actors in the finance sector were giving interpretations to the policy as it suited them.

Ekon cited a situation in which he claimed that banks were rejecting deposits for transfers for medical purposes.

“It is a very serious issue; you cannot even transfer money for medical services abroad,” he added.

Another lawmaker from Anambra State, Mr. Chris Azubogu, complained that his brothers in Nnewi, who engaged in import business, had been bombarding him with telephone calls since the policy was announced by the CBN.

According to him, the banks too did not seem to understand what the directive implies as they “resort to measures that are entirely unnecessary.”

Azubogu also alleged that some firms could be forced to lay off workers if delays in moving funds meant that they could not finalise their import transactions.

On his part, the Deputy Whip of the House, Mr. Pally Iriase, told the House that he did not see how the policy would shore up the value of the naira.

“The policy is so confusing to virtually everybody.

“How does it impact on the foreign exchange rate?” Iriase asked.

A move by some members to stop the motion on the grounds that it was not important was halted by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara.

The Speaker, like some of his colleagues, also admitted that he was confused about the policy.

“Myself, I must say that honestly I am confused too. Let the CBN governor come and explain what this is about,” he ruled on an order seeking to stop the motion.

But Abubakar Blata argued that anybody describing the policy as confusing was not telling the truth.

Blata recalled that the CBN merely invoked the powers conferred on it pursuant to its Act by introducing a policy that could possibly shore up the value of the naira against the US dollar.

“There is no confusion in this policy.

“The CBN is looking for ways to rescue the naira from total collapse,” he said.

The House Whip, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, advised members to support the motion and allow Emefiele to come and give explanations.

“There is no problem in allowing him to come and make the explanations.

“The explanations may lay the confusion to rest. Recall that when the CBN came up with the cashless policy, similar reservations were expressed.

“But after the former CBN governor (Lamido Sanusi) came here to speak on it, a lot of nerves became calmed,” Ado-Doguwa added.

The sponsor of the motion on the state of the economy, Mr. Bede Eke, stated that the investigation had become necessary on the heels of conflicting statements by government officials on the true state of the economy.

He cited a case in which President Muhammadu Buhari told the nation that he inherited a near-empty treasury, but went ahead to approve N804.7bn as bailout fund for states and local governments.

The Federal Ministry of Finance, the CBN and the National Planning Commission and other agencies of the Federal Government are to appear before the House in the course of the investigations.

Reps summon CBN gov over dollar deposits

Breaking: Femi Gbajabiamila finally emerges as Majority Leader

By Ehi Ekhator, Naija Center News

It seems the crisis rocking the Federal House of Representative may have finally come to an end as Femi Gbajabiamila has been named the majority leader.

There has been leadership tussles between the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, his loyalists, and Gbajabiamila and those loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC)

The refusal by Dogara to announce Gbajabiamila has a majority leader has torn the party into pieces until on Tuesday when the President Muhammadu Buhari met with the aggrieved reps in Abuja.

 

Mr. Gbajabiamila was a former minority leader who was pushed to speakership but lost to Dogara.

 

In the same vein, Buba Jibrin was named the deputy leader, Ado Doguwa as chief whip while Pally Iraise was named deputy whip.

Chukwuma Onyema emerged as deputy Minority Whip; Yakubu Umar as the Minority Whip while Leo Ogor clicked the Minority Leader position.

What this means is that, The leadership of the APC has succeeded in resolving the problem with started since June 9.

Breaking: Femi Gbajabiamila finally emerges as Majority Leader

Buhari meeting with APC reps ends in deadlock

TROUBLE is not yet over for the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the meeting called on Monday by President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve its leadership crisis in the House of Representatives ended in a deadlock.

Yakubu Dogara

The APC House members, led by the Speaker, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, met with the President for about 20 minutes at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, but were unable to reach a common ground as factions loyal to the Speaker and former Minority Leader of the House, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, gave contrary opinions on what transpired at the meeting.

Gbajabiamila narrowly lost his bid to become Speaker of the House of Representatives to Dogara despite being the favoured for the post by the leadership of the party.

His bid to become the Leader of the House is also being resisted by the House leadership which was reported to have zoned the position to the North West and effectively knocking out the Lagos lawmaker.

The House leadership has, however, conceded the position to a member of the Gbajabiamila group who must be from the North West in order to maintain the Federal Character principle in the appointment of principal officers of the House but this had not gone done well with Gbajabiamila’s loyalists.

President Buhari had therefore convened Monday’s meeting to find a way out of the logjam.

Also in the meeting were the Deputy a Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yusuf Lasun; APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and some members of his National Working Committee (NWC) including National Secretary, Ibrahim Gubi; National Deputy Chairman South, Chief Segun Oni and National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Emerging from the meeting, Dogara told correspondents that the meeting was a family meeting but noted that consultations would continue intoMonday night with the hope that the leadership crisis could be resolved.

“I believe that by this night, there will be compromise. We are still talking. But I think this is the first time everybody coming together in a cordial atmosphere,” he said.

In his remarks, Chief Odigie-Oyegun said so much ground was covered in the 20-minute meeting, saying, “You will be very surprised that a lot was achieved in 20 minutes.”

He was confident that a compromised had been reached, saying, “I have a feeling in another three four hours and by tomorrow, we will have come to a compromise and have good news for the nation.”

Also speaking, Gbajabiamila described the meeting as a ‘family meeting,’ insisting that discussion would go on among the party members to resolve the lingering crisis.

“It is not about magic. This is a family that has come together and we are here to resolve the problem and we shall move ahead to resolve the issue this evening,” he said.

Buhari meeting with APC reps ends in deadlock

APC lawmakers accuse Speaker Dogara of planning to bar them from Assembly Complex

By Sani Tukur

As the House of Representatives get set to resume plenary on Tuesday, lawmakers loyal to the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, and Femi Gbajabiamila have alleged that Speaker Yakubu Dogara is planning to prevent them from gaining access to the Assembly.

Yakubu Dogara

The spokesperson of the group, Nasiru Zangon-Daura, who addressed a press conference at Protea Hotel, Asokoro, Abuja on Saturday also accused Mr. Dogara and his supporters of working with members elected under the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to frustrate the anti-corruption drive of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr. Zangon-Daura said the Speaker is specifically planning to stop members of the ‘Loyalist Group’ such as Aliyu Madaki, Rufai Chanchangi, Philip Shaibu, Mohamed Soba, Isa Zuru, Ahmed Kaita, Ismaila Sulaiman, James Falken, Yusuf Ikara, Abdullahi Salame and Abubakar Chika from entering the chambers

“We strongly warn Speaker Dogara that we will not take any breach of our members’ privileges lightly and we will hold you, Speaker Dogara personally responsible. Honour is earned through honourable actions. A word is enough for the wise,” he said.

Mr. Zangon-Daura also said the attempt by Speaker Dogara to bring back the PDP to reckoning after losing the 2015 general elections would not work.

“We have therefore, resolved that enough is enough of the shenanigans of the PDP and Speaker Dogara group.

“We hereby remind Speaker Dogara group and his PDP allies in the House that we have fought the PDP and already chased them out of government because we were willing to pay the price to ensure that Nigerians are not short-changed.

“And we are ready to do it again now so that the Change Agenda prevails in the House of Representatives,” he said.

The lawmaker said the 2015 elections presented an opportunity to consign the PDP in to oblivion. He added that such quest of pushing the PDP to oblivion is being halted due to the activities of a few disloyal members “of the APC who had already formed an unholy alliance with the PDP in the House.

“We had hoped that with a difference of just 8 votes between Dogara and Femi, Speaker Dogara would have realised the need to cultivate a united House of Representatives.

“We are also cognisant that in politics there are always the subversive activities and antics of 5th columnist in any political movement to content with.

“We are also aware that this unholy alliance is a bid to truncate President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda, which include his anti-corruption stance by using the National Assembly to, at the very minimum, slow it down if they cannot stop this Presidential initiative dead cold.

“We know that this unholy agreement between the disloyal Dogara group and the PDP entail the deployment of PDP members and the disloyal APC group in strategic positions in the Structures and Committees of The House.

“The purpose of this strategic deployment is to enable the PDP to indirectly dictate the pace and activities of the National Assembly to the detriment of our party’s goals and objectives,” he said.

Members loyal to Mr. Dogara had on Friday stated that the crisis in the House is over because the” Dogara formula” which had conceded the position of House leader and Chief Whip to the Gbajabiamila group has been accepted by the nominated members, Alhassan Doguwa and Pally Iriase respectively.

Mr. Zangon-Daura had issued a statement Friday night denying any truce.

He said the Gbajabiamila group still maintains its stand that party supremacy must reign in the appointment of principal officers.

Speaking Saturday, the lawmaker said the group “deplore(s) the continued defiance of the APC and the APC House Caucus by Speaker Dogara as indicated in his disloyal letter to our Party National Chairman.

“We are also not aware of any concession(s) made by the Speaker Dogara Group to the APC Loyalist Group contrary to insinuations in the media, ” he said.

He also said to have a genuine agreement that is not tainted by the PDP, the Dogara group will have to first of all “cut off the umbilical cord between them and the PDP and secondly engage in candid reconciliatory discussions with our group as a whole through our approved members under the leadership of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.”

 

This was first published on PremiumTimes

APC lawmakers accuse Speaker Dogara of planning to bar them from Assembly Complex

Edo assembly summons BEDC over blackout

The Edo State House of assembly has summoned the management of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company over the disconnection of Igarra community, Akoko Edo Local Government Area, from the national grid.

It said the distribution company should appear before it on July 21 to explain why it disconnected the community and kept the residents in darkness.

The resolution, which was passed by the House on Wednesday, followed a matter of urgent public importance on the alleged oppressive and malicious shutdown of power supply to the community and its environs, as raised by the member representing Akoko-Edo II, Emmanuel Agbaje, during plenary.

Residents of the community had ‎protested the disconnection which they claimed was due to their refusal to allow officials of the BEDC to remove a 2.5 step down transformer said to have been given to the community by the council.

But the BEDC spokesperson had said the disconnection was due to unpaid electricity bills by the community since November, 2014, while the transformer was removed because it was underused.

He said the community had been provided with a 7.5 MVA transformer under the National Independent Power Project‎. However, Agbaje, who moved the motion, said the distribution company had removed the transformer servicing the Igarra community and its environs without any explanation, denying the residents power supply for over one month.‎

“Mr. speaker, my community has been in darkness following the removal of the transformer servicing the community by BEDC without explanation.

“Even when I went there to find out the reason for their action, I was not granted audience,” he said.

The Majority Leader, Foley Ogedengbe, while sympathising with the affected community, described the situation as an unfair treatment capable of grounding economic activities in the area.

He added, “If they want to recover their property, you must dialogue and explain to the community stating why the transformer has to be removed,” he said.‎

Edo assembly summons BEDC over blackout

We won’t accept Gbajabiamila as Majority Leader, Dogara faction insists

By Sani Tukur

Members of the House of Representatives loyal to the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, have said they will ensure federal character as enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution is adhered to in the appointment of Principal Officers of the House.

Yakubu Dogara

The group said it stands by its offer that south west and north east cannot produce the majority leader of the House. The major contender for the slot is Femi Gbajabiamila, who is from the south west.

The Dogara group said this in a statement signed by Abdulmumini Jibrin, representing Kano, in reaction to an earlier statement released by members loyal to Mr. Gbajabiamila, who is the ruling All Progressives Congress’ preferred candidate for the position of Majority Leader.

The APC had initially adopted Mr. Gbajabiamila to become speaker. He lost the seat to Mr. Dogara.

Mr. Dogara rejects Mr. Gbajabiamila as the leader of the APC caucus in the house. He cites federal character since the deputy speaker, Yusuf Lasun, like Mr. Gbajabiamila, is from the south west.

The Dogara faction said Wednesday it was offering the Gbajabiamila faction the majority leader, but said the slot must be occupied by a lawmaker from any region except south west and north east, where Mr. Dogara comes from.

The group said it was making the offer to end weeks of bickering that has stalled legislative functions.

The Gbajabiamila group said Wednesday while it was yet to formally be given the offer, its stance that Gbajabiamila be made the Majority Leader was not negotiable.

The Dogara group has reacted to the demand, insisting on respect for federal character in distribution of appointments.

In its statement early Thursday, the group said every geopolitical zone in Nigeria be given representation in the principal officers of the House.

They also faulted the argument by the Gbajabiamila group that the South East Zone produced only two “new” members, who do not have cognate legislative experience and therefore not entitled to be represented in the principal officers’ cadre.

“In the first place, any person acquainted with the Rules and practice of the House knows that a new member is regarded as having “cognate legislative experience” immediately he is sworn in as a Member as it is only new members- elect that are affected by the Rule,” they said.

They also said established precedents in the Senate and House of Representatives had shown consistent respect for zonal representation in the election of principal officers, even when there were only a few from a zone.

“It is as a result of this, that the 7th Senate, elected Senator Ayoola Hosea Agboola, Deputy Chief Whip, even though he was the only Member from his party from the South West.

“Furthermore, in the 7th House of Representatives, Hon Mulikat Akande, was made House Leader even though she was one of only five members from her party from her Zone.

“Even only recently, in the 8th Senate, Senator Francis Alimikhena, from the South South has been made Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, a principal officer , even though he is a “new” member and the only member of APC from the South South,” they said.

The Dogara group also faulted the decision of the APC leadership on the matter, saying if adhered to, the party position would completely shut out the North Central zone which has 33 members in the House from the APC.

“This so called party position, if allowed to stand, would result in the South West producing the Deputy Speaker and Leader of the House and North East would produce Speaker and Chief Whip of the House. This is most unfair and inequitable.

“In fact, there is no evidence that any of the Organs of the Party, APC, such as the National Working Committee, the National Caucus or National Executive Committee, approved such an unjust outcome. We insist that this is not even the Party position,” the group said.

The Dogara group also said it was “erroneous” to assert that there was a resolution at the recent meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the APC on Party supremacy that recognized any one as House Leader or any other principal officer of the House.

“The matter was not an item on the Agenda of the APC NEC meeting and no such resolution or decision was taken,” they said.

The group insisted that the way out of the logjam, is for the aggrieved APC members who lost election for the Presiding Officers of the House, to accept the offer extended to them to produce the House Leader from among themselves, but excluding any member from the South West or North East.

“If this magnanimity is not accepted, then the generally accepted method of choosing Principal Officers in the House over the years by Caucuses would be activated,” they said.

We won’t accept Gbajabiamila as Majority Leader, Dogara faction insists

Why I didn’t read APC’s letter – Dogara

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Sunday said that a court process instituted by 30 All Progressives Congress members stopped him from acting on a letter from the party’s leadership, nominating four principal officers for the lower chambers of the National Assembly.

Yakubu Dogara

He also said that reliance on conventional wisdom alone would not solve the nation’s problems, noting that the country would likely achieve limited success without prayers.

Dogara specifically urged Nigerians to pray for the success of President Muhammadu Buhari and other persons in leadership positions in the country.

A statement issued in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, quoted the Speaker as making the calls during a church service held at the Living Faith Church, Durumi, in the Federal Capital Territory.

In his very first reaction to the results of the election in which he defeated former Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, by eight votes, he admitted that it was a “miracle” that he won.

He had said that looking at the formidable forces against him before the election, it came as a surprise to him that he emerged victorious.

Dogara had polled 182 votes to defeat Gbajabiamila, who scored 174.

At a separate meeting with former members of the House, Dogara said he assumed full responsibility for the fracas which broke out on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday last week.

However, he explained that a court process instituted by 30 APC members stopped him from acting on a letter from the party’s leadership, nominating four principal officers.

Enraged APC lawmakers punched one another, tearing clothes and throwing chairs as they fought over the sharing of principal offices in the House.

The leadership of the APC had written Dogara and recommended names to him to announce as   Majority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila; Deputy Leader, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; Chief Whip, Mr. Mohammed Monguno; and Deputy Whip, Mr. Pally Iriase.

But addressing the former lawmakers, Dogara said he could not toe the party’s line because the names did not reflect geographical balancing among the six zones in the country.

He also told the former members that some aggrieved members from the North-Central geo-political zone had already filed a litigation in court on the grounds that the appointments did not reflect the principle of Federal Character enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Dogara added, “Assuming they win the case and the court now rules that that directive of the party breaches the provision of the constitution relating to the federal character.

“So, do we now begin to see somebody vacating his office or principal position so that we can accommodate the court’s ruling?”

According to him, this was his reason for calling for an executive session on Thursday so that all the members could sit in camera to examine the issue.

However, he expressed regrets that his colleagues misread his intention, resulting in the fracas.

“That was why I had to call on the Chairman, Ad Hoc Committee on Media, (Mr. Sani Zoro), to apologise to Nigerians. I have accepted responsibility for everything that transpired and we apologise to the nation,” he stated.

Speaking on how to resolve the nation’s problems, Dogara said, “I want to plead that the problems we have in the country now are not conventional and so conventional wisdom cannot solve them. We need divine wisdom.”

On Buhari and other leaders, the Dogara said, “Without prayers, there is no way we can succeed.

“So, I urge that we offer prayers and supplication for all the leaders, beginning from the President to the least person in authority.”

Why I didn’t read APC’s letter – Dogara

We’re fighting for your interest, Ekweremadu tells Nigerians

By Sani Tukur, PT.

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has stated that the ongoing “fight” in the National Assembly is in the interest of Nigerians.

Plenary session was disrupted for hours in the House of Representatives on Wednesday as members engaged in a free-for-all fight over the election of new principal officers.

The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, wants its nominees elected leaders, a position that has been rejected the leaderships of the Senate and the House.

Mr. Ekweremadu who represents Enugu state at the Senate in his reaction after the ugly incident said “Dear Nigerians, please be rest assured that we are all fighting for your interest. We need your prayer and support for a better Nigeria”.

He made the remark via his twitter handle.

Both chambers of the National Assembly have again gone on recess to reconvene on July 21.

They resumed Plenary on Tuesday after a two-week break following the emergence of Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Yakubu Dogara, as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Deputy Senate president also announced that the leadership of the Senate had on Wednesday inaugurated an ad hoc committee on finance to address the National Assembly budget and another to draft Legislative agenda for the Senate.

Mr. Saraki had maintained that the Senate under his leadership would cut cost and run an open budget.

Many Nigerians have condemned the decision of the national assembly to go on a one month recess at a time the nation eagerly awaits the appointment of ministers by President Muhammadu Buhari. Such appointments must be approved by the Senate.

Mr. Ekweremadu however, assured that the Senate would “reconvene once the Ministerial list is ready”.

We’re fighting for your interest, Ekweremadu tells Nigerians

Clothes Torn, Punches In House Of Reps Over Leadership Posts

ABUJA—Bad blood flowing from the unresolved leadership tussle in the House of Representatives literally flowed in the chambers of the House, yesterday, as members charged on one another for supremacy.

For about one and half hours, members were in riot mood following an attempt by allies of the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to compel Speaker Yakubu Dogara to announce the list of principal officers of the House as dictated by the party.

Speaker Dogara’s rebuff and bid to steer the House into a closed-door session was equally challenged by supporters of the APC national executive who apparently came prepared for a showdown.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in its reaction apologised on behalf of the House to Nigerians but called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call his party men in the House to order.

Meanwhile, the APC was unapologetic over its intervention as it last night stood by the list of nominees for principal offices of the National Assembly. The party in a statement issued by its National Secretary, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni nevertheless, condemned the riot on the floor of the House.

Also, Presidency sources said, yesterday, that the President would not intervene in the issue to avoid being seen as supporting any of the contending sides in the House.

Following opening prayers and other formalities, yesterday, Speaker Dogara had at about 11.08 a.m. announced that the House would go into closed session to discuss some issues of concern to the House.

He hardly finished speaking when a member of the APC in a flowing gown rose up, shouting that the Speaker should announce the list of principal officers sent to him by the national chairman of the party.

 

The list from APC

That list as published in several national newspapers, yesterday, had directed the speaker to announce Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila from Lagos State in the South-West Zone as House Leader; Alhassan Ado Doguwa from Kano State as Deputy Leader; Mohammed Monguno from the North-east as Chief Whip and Pally Iriase from Edo State in the South-South as Deputy Chief Whip.

The demand of the party as articulated through the letter by the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was, however, said to have violated the principle of federal character as it left the North-Central and South-east geopolitical zones out of the ranking, while giving two positions to the North-east and South-West.

At about 11.05 a.m. just after Rep. Orker-Jev Emmanuel Yisa, stood up to move the motion for the House to move into closed door session, some members rose up and started chanting Party is Supreme! They demanded that the speaker should read out the letter from the national chairman. Some of the members raised placards with inscriptions that read: “Party is supreme.”

Vanguard learnt yesterday that supporters of the Gbajabiamila group met up till 3.00 a.m. during which they resolved that they would not allow any other thing to be done except the letter from the party is read.

The decision of the group, it was gathered, was to pre-empt the House going into a closed door session where Dogara was expected to fetch the names of the leaders as elected by the various geopolitical zones in the House.

As the protesters started descending towards the floor, officers of the Sergeant-at-Arms formed a protective cordon around the mace of the House.

The presence of the officials of the Sergeant-at-Arms, however, did not deter the chanting APC members. While they were at it, loyalists of the speaker also descended towards the table leading to shoving here and there.

Inevitably, the fracas drew out supporters of the speaker who also rushed to form a protective cordon around him.

A member from Cross-River State butted a member from the South-west with his head, while the attire of a loyalist of the speaker from the South-West was torn to shreds in the melee.

APC senators fighting

Meanwhile by the table, it was a ding-dong affair for the mace as opponents and supporters of the speaker struggled for the mace, and eventually, supporters of the speaker got the upper hand and the mace was taken away by the Sergeant-at-Arms. With the mace out of the table, officially signalling an end to deliberations, Speaker Dogara vacated his seat on the upper dais and descended to the seat of the clerk, a chair otherwise reserved for the chairman of the Committee of the Whole House. There was a protective cordon mounted by several members around him as they dared the rioters to come near. The speaker was not in any way physically ruffled and from time to time he looked down at the bedlam around him.

Around the chambers, some members shouted APC Shame! Others shouted Party Supremacy. A handful of those chorusing party supremacy now and again raised up their placards to buttress their cause. The speaker’s loyalists also time and again shouted Dogara! Dogara!!

About one hour into the riot, the speaker’s main rival for speakership, Gbajabiamila, who had not been visible for most of the time, came to stand by those near the speaker and shared some things with him. To many, that was a signal that peace would soon reign. Gbajabiamila was soon joined on the rostrum by Rep. Leo Ogor, the unofficial leader of the opposition PDP, a strong backbone for the speaker.

By 12.34, with the energy of the legislators well dissipated after about 90 minutes of uproar, an unidentified member started shouting order, order. In another three minutes, full order was restored as members had returned to their seats.

Following the restoration of order, the mace was returned to the table, and the speaker lifted himself to his elevated chair from where he upbraided the members on their action.

 

Dogara scolds Reps

Dogara said: “We are very fortunate, let me remind us of the fact that, we are very, very fortunate. In a nation of 170 million people only 360 of us are selected or elected to represent the people and we should be grateful to our constituents for sending us here.

“To be candid, we have promised so much in the course of our elections and even the very party I belong to, the APC we have promised change and Nigerians expect us to really talk about those matters, those issues that bother them most.

“They want to hear us talk about unemployment, poverty. In my region they want us to address insecurity and as long as this House is divided and not united we cannot achieve that.

“We have been down this tedious road before so I plead of us, I plead of us honourable members as leaders, all hands must be on the deck to enable us achieve the desired unity that we need in order to move this house forward; that is the responsibility we owe.”

Following that, he approved the votes and proceedings of the previous day and promptly adjourned the House till July 21, 2015.

Briefing journalists after the sitting, Chairman, House ad-hoc Committee on Media, Rep. Sani Zoro flanked by Rep. Jarigbe Agor Jarigbe said that the members who disrupted the session acted on a premeditated script, as some of them carried placards with inscriptions on them.

“These members attempted to seize the mace, which is the symbol of authority of the House and other sundry acts of fighting, fracas, misconduct, disruption and committed unparliamentary actions unbecoming of the status of honourable members.

“The House therefore sincerely apologizes to Nigerians for the ugly events of today.

However, some APC members blamed the speaker for the crisis saying his refusal to read out the nominees for principal office positions triggered the riot.

Spokesman of the group, Rep Nasiru Sani Zangon Daura representing Zango/Baure Federal Constituency, Katsina State said: “We are aware of a letter sent by our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) dated June 23, 2015 conveying the approval of the Party’s Principal Officers vis-à-vis the APC House Leader, the APC Chief Whip, the APC Deputy House Leader and the APC Deputy Chief Whip for the House of Representatives.

“This letter by the Party is in compliance with the expressed wish and mandate of the majority members of the APC Caucus in the House of Representatives.

President Buhari should call his party members to order – Ogor

Meanwhile the PDP caucus in the House in its own reaction called on President Buhari to call members of the APC in the House who he described as rioters to order.

Addressing journalists after the melee, leader of the PDP caucus, Ogor said:

“A very embarrassing and unpleasant action took place from the APC group, they decided to take laws into their hands, turned the house upside down and went as far as even carrying the mace which is the symbol of authority.

“I think we are starting on a wrong footing coupled with the fact that crisis created in this scenario by the ruling party, I sincerely on behalf of my colleagues want to apologise to Nigerian people and our constituents.”

 

Clothes Torn, Punches In House Of Reps Over Leadership Posts

House Speakership: Tinubu’s candidate faces fierce battle with Dogara

Twenty days to the   inauguration of the new government of All Progressives Congress, APC, there is still no sign that the party has reached a compromise on which geopolitical zone of the country that will produce the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Bola Tinubu arriving yesterday

Instead, the matter has so rattled the party that two different committees have emerged to broker a ruse amongst zones and forces contending for the position.

It has also thrown up at least two zones and two candidates who are now on a hot race for the position.

They are north east and the south west zones. While Hon. Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi State jostles from the north east, the south west through the National leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is insisting on the candidacy of the outgoing minority leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila from Lagos State.

It will be recalled that the party had on May 22 at the Party’s leadership meeting in Abuja appointed a two man committee comprising the president-elect, General Mohammadu Buhari and the National Chairman of the Party, Chief John Oyegun to resolve the issue when it became obvious that the two zones were at each other’s throat for the office.

But the Buhari/Oyegun committee has not met and if it had, the outcome of the meeting is yet to be made public. But an authentic party source who also shares an affinity with the House of Representatives confided in Saturday Vanguard yesterday that the committee’s willingness to meet for the purpose was poor.

According to him, the president-elect may have since taken a position on the matter which is that the incoming members of the National Assembly should be given the liberty to choose who become their leader without external interferences.

APC yet to formerly zone the slot

The issue of zoning offices in APC has a faint recognition and may even be jettisoned. This is even why another member of the House, Hon. Abdulmumini Jubril from Kano State recorded first in launching his interest before any other person.

But his interest could not fly die to the simple reason that he came from the same zone with the president-elect even though he is subtly pushing.

As at yesterday, the party has not officially ceded the slot to any zone and most people believe that is the springboard of the clash of interest currently going on in the party.

With this, the race has almost assumed the dimension of “do-or-die” affair between Dogara and Gbajabiamila who have intensified lobbying among the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s members in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly.

A source also told Saturday Vanguard that Tinubu, Gbajabiamila’s backbone is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the south west emerges victorious in the contest.

APC Governors-elect float a peace committee

Meanwhile, to broker a ruse in the imbroglio surrounding the speakership, the newly-elected governors of APC last week set up a 5-man Committee.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the Committee which was obviously a voluntary one was however parallel to Buhari/Oyegun Committee.

The incoming Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-rufai is the Head of the committee with the outgoing House of Representatives Speaker and Governor-elect of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal and the Governor-elect of Plateau State, Mr. Simon Lalong as members.

Though, the mandate of the committee was not specifically mentioned as to whether it would take sides with either of the candidates, it was learnt that its objective was not however unconnected with finding a middle ground so that the looming crisis in the party would be nibbed in the bud.

But unfortunately, the committee’s first outing which took place last week Tuesday, Saturday Vanguard gathered ended in deadlock.

It was not ascertained whether they met again this week but expectations are high that the Committee would meet next week.

Dogara’s support base gathers momentum with 286 members on the queue

Meanwhile, while, the intrigues intensified last week, Saturday Vanguard gathered that Dogara’s support base witnessed a rise.

At the moment, 143 members from both APC and PDP have pencilled down their names in support of Dogara. Bulk of the members came from the PDP’s 139 figure.

It was learnt that irrespective of any apparent future pressure, the people have sworn to swim and sink with him.

In addition to this number, Saturday Vanguard source hinted that the camp is also playing a smart game, using the members to bring more to the camp.

To this end, each person among the 143 persons has the mandate of bringing at least one more person.

Should this strategy pay off, it means that the Bauchi State born parliamentarian could becoasting home with 286 votes out of 360 votes of the House’s numerical strength. But nobody is sure.

“If the permutations work out and members return to camp with at least one more member, it then becomes obvious that Dogara has already won Gbaja”, the source said in confidence.

Gbajabiamila seriously networking

Even with Dogara’s game plan, Saturday Vanguard also gathered that his opponent, Gbajabiamila is not relenting.

He is seriously reaching out to both camps as well.

Sources from the national assembly said he wasn’t doing badly in his strategies but according to them, it would be a fierce battle between them.

It was further learnt that no one was had any serious qualms with his candidacy but those behind him.

“Gbaja may be a better candidate but the fear that he may be subservient to one person is a very serious factor many people are considering. He may have the support of the south west lawmakers but I can guarantee him the votes of most PDP members. Anyway, this depends on future developments,” a source said.

 

House Speakership: Tinubu’s candidate faces fierce battle with Dogara

We’ll cut costs, Reps allowances – Speakership aspirant

An aspirant for the position of Speaker of the 8th House of Representatives, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, said on Tuesday that if elected, the House under him woul‎d cut the cost of governance, including the allowances of members.

Jibrin explained that the House would cue into the agenda of the President-Elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd), to cut the cost of governance by speedily supporting any proposal to slash spending on governance across board.

Jibrin spoke in Abuja just as members reconvened from their election recess.

When asked a specific question on whether it would include the remuneration of members, he said, “Cutting cost is all encompassing.”

He added that the running cost of members would be slashed since it was also part of the cost of governance.

Jibrin added, “‎It is not only the issue of take home or the running cost. It is the entire package of running the activities of the National Assembly.

“So, when someone says, I am going to cut cost, it covers every aspect of it. When you say you are going to cut cost, it is quiet straightforward. ”

Jibrin also promised that the House, under his leadership, would publish the remuneration of ‎lawmakers periodically to lay to rest the speculation over the exact size of their pay package.

The pay package of members of the National Assembly has generated controversies since 1999, as Nigerians feel that their take home pay is too high and a burden on taxpayers.

Many have tagged it “jumbo pay”, considered too high for Nigerians to bear.

We’ll cut costs, Reps allowances – Speakership aspirant

APC wins 214 House of Reps’ seats

The All Progressives Congress will firmly be in control of the 8th House of Representatives as the majority party with over 214 members.

There are a total of 360 seats in the second chamber of the National Assembly.

Figures emerging from the outcome of the March 28 National Assembly poll, show that APC members are now 214, against the Peoples Democratic Party, which has 125 lawmakers.

The statistics gives a gap of 89 between the APC and the PDP in favour of the former.

The figures, which The PUNCH obtained on Tuesday, exclude the 11 federal constituency seats in Jigawa State, where election has yet to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

When elections for the 11 seats are conducted, the APC will possibly get additional seats, meaning that its numerical strength in the House may be well above 214 at inauguration on June 6.

Three other political parties, Labour Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance and Accord Party, share the balance of 10 seats, bringing the total to 360.

The distribution of the figures shows that the APC has the highest membership haul from the North-West with 81 lawmakers, as against the PDP’s zero score for now.

It is followed by the South-West, where it won 47 seats compared to the PDP’s 20.

In the North-Central, the party got 41 seats and left eight for the PDP.

The APC’s performance in the North-East was 40 as against the seven seats won by the PDP.

The PDP’s strongest zone is the South-South, where it produced 52 members, compared to the APC’s three. The three seats came from Edo State.

The current majority party won 38 seats in the South-East, leaving only three for the APC in Imo State.

A further breakdown indicates that the APC did not win any seat in Ebonyi, Anambra, Enugu and Abia states.

Same goes for the South-South states of Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers and Bayelsa, where it did not produce any lawmaker.

However, the APC took all the seats in Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi in the North-West.

In its second strongest zone (South-West), it got 19 seats out of 24 in Lagos; 12 in Oyo State; seven in Osun; five in Ondo and four in Ogun.

The PDP cleared all the six seats in Ekiti State.

In the North-Central axis, APC won all seats in Kogi, Kwara and Niger states. It won eight out of 11 in Benue; six out of eight in Plateau; and two out of five in Nasarawa State.

Similarly, it amassed all the seats in Bauchi and Borno states.

But, in Adamawa, the APC has seven, the PDP (one); Gombe, the APC has four, PDP (two); Taraba, APC two, PDP (three); and Yobe, APC five, PDP (one).

At the inauguration of the 7th Assembly on June 6, 2011, the PDP was in clear majority with around 208 lawmakers. The defunct Action Congress of Nigeria had about 70 members, followed by the then Congress for Progressive Change, which had around 40 lawmakers.

Following the historic merger in 2013 between the ACN, CPC and the All Nigerian Peoples Party to form the APC, the PDP began rapidly to lose its control of the House.

In December of the same year, 37 PDP members moved in one day to the APC. More defections followed in the run up to the last elections.

It was capped on October 28, 2014, with the defection of the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, a PDP lawmaker, to the APC.

By the time the two parties went for the March 28 polls, the APC’s membership in the House had risen to above 180, while the PDP fell to between 158 and 160.

The outcome of the polls further confirmed the APC’s control of the House and positioned it to produce the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Majority Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Majority Leader of the in-coming 8th Assembly.

This will turn the table against the PDP, now demoted to minority or the main opposition party.

Commenting on the turn of events on Tuesday, the outgoing Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, described it as “democracy at play,” though he assured Nigerians that the PDP would bounce back.

APC wins 214 House of Reps’ seats

Govs’ immunity: Motion to check Mbu divides Reps

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A motion on alleged disrespectful conduct and utterances of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone II Command, Mr. Joseph Mbu, on Tuesday divided members of the House of Representatives along party lines.

Senate

It has become difficult of late for members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the House and their All Progressives Congress colleagues to speak with one voice on any issue.

The rift became wider following a series of defections from the PDP to the APC, which gave the latter a higher numerical figure of about 180.

The PDP, hitherto the majority party, has dropped to around 161 members.

On Tuesday, an APC member from Kano State, Mr. Alo Madaki, moved a motion asking the House to “condemn” Mbu for alleged violations of the 1999 Constitution and showing “disrespect for the rule of law.”

Madaki recalled that‎ Mbu recently directed officers and men under his command to “disregard any immunity being enjoyed by state governors” under his zone.

He also said the AIG had directed his men to kill as many people as possible in retaliation for any policeman killed during the upcoming general elections.

Madaki further told the House that Mbu “abused” his office when he served as the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command.

He argued that Mbu’s conduct and utterances were a violation of the constitutional immunity ‎of the governors and also proved that he had little regard for the lives of Nigerians.

But, PDP members consistently interrupted him, accusing Madaki of passing judgment on Mbu before he was heard.

One member from Ebonyi State, Mr. Linus Okorie, raised a point of order to stop Madaki.

Okories shouted that Mbu must first be given fair‎ hearing before a judgment of condemnation was passed on him.

The House suddenly became rowdy as APC lawmakers shouted at Okorie to sit down.

“Sit down; sit ‎down; you don’t have anything to say,” some of them  shouted.

As the rowdiness continued, the presiding Deputy Speaker, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, tried to rule on the motion, but he too was interrupted by both parties.

However, pressure was mounted on Madaki to amend his motion to read that the House should “investigate” Mbu’s alleged conduct and utterances.

Madaki deleted “condemn” from the motion and replaced it with “investigation by the House Committee on Police Affairs” before the motion was later passed in a majority voice vote.

Meanwhile, a scheduled debate on the use of the military during elections was postponed till Wednesday.

The House had last week referred the matter to its joint Committees on Rules/Business, Justice and Judiciary for advice after it pitted PDP and APC lawmakers against one another.

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Govs’ immunity: Motion to check Mbu divides Reps

Court refuses to hear suit seeking Tambuwal’s removal

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Justice Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday refused to assume jurisdiction over a suit seeking to stop the House of Representatives from holding a plenary towards the execution of impeachment moves against President Goodluck Jonathan.

Aminu Tambuwal

The suit also sought an order restraining Aminu Tambuwal from carrying on as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

But Buba refused to entertain the suit on the grounds that it fell short of the provisions of Order 2 Rule 2 of the Federal High Court Rules on jurisdiction.

Two lawyers namely, Anthony Nwajiugo and Okechukwu Ebirim, filed the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1863/14.

In it, they sought a declaration that the House of Representatives, as presently constituted with Tambuwal as the Speaker, was subversive of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

They sought a declaration “that the House of Representatives as presently constituted cannot embark on any legislative business, including the adjournment of plenary sessions on the impeachment of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, being improperly constituted; and

“A declaration that Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal constituency of Sokoto State cannot remain and by his action, lost the competence to remain the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of Nigeria.”

But on Monday when the second plaintiff, Ebirim, appeared before Buba, the judge asked why the plaintiffs did not go to Abuja to file the suit, since the defendants carry out their statutory duties in Abuja.

“Give me reasons why I should sit in Lagos and say the House of Representatives should not sit in Abuja. You have not served them in Abuja; you have served them in Lagos. Can we constitute our own jurisdiction?

“The two plaintiffs are lawyers, why are they afraid to go to Abuja? Does the National of Assembly carry out its business in Lagos?

“Learned counsel should address this court on why the court should entertain this suit in Lagos, in view of Order 2 Rule 2 of this court.”

But Ebirim submitted that being an issue that borders on the Constitution, and given the fact that the National Assembly had a liaison office in Lagos, the plaintiffs had the right to ventilate their grievances before the Federal High Court, irrespective of division.

He said, “We submit that a matter that borders on the constitution is national in nature and can be heard in a Federal High Court, irrespective of division.”

But Buba dismissed the argument and held, “This case is wrongly constituted in Lagos. The case shall be transferred to Abuja. The plaintiffs shall approach the Chief Judge of this court for a date for hearing.”

In an affidavit filed in support of the suit and deposed to by the first applicant, Nwajiugo, the deponent averred that by virtue of his citizenship and training as a lawyer, he was aware that Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution provided that a member of Senate or House of Representatives shall vacate his seat upon defection from the party that sponsored him or her before the expiration of his or her tenure.

He added that the suit was filed basically to challenge the propriety of Tambuwal presiding over the House business, especially the plans to impeach Jonathan.

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Court refuses to hear suit seeking Tambuwal’s removal

Breaking: Five reps jump PDP for APC, 5 APC reps join SDP

Five members of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) informed the House of representative that they have joined the main opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC).

Since the primaries of the PDP, a lot of grumblings had been going on due to the members inability to click the ticket into the various offices they vied for.

The defection of the lawmakers may not be unconnected to the grieviances of the reps who think that after their effort to support President Jonathan, hoping it would secure their seat in their aspirations, end up in emptiness as they could not return to the house.

Ironically, as five members of the PDP announced their defection, five members of the APC also dumped their parties for the Social Democratic Party. The group were known supporters of the former Governor of Ogun State, Mr. Segun Osoba, who is the SDP financier.

Among those who defected to SDP were were his son, Mr. Olumide Osoba. Among those who left the PDP for the APC was Mr. Ibrahim El-Sudi, the lawmaker who investigated the alleged collapse of the Nigerian Capital Market and recommended the sacking of the DG of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms Arunmah Oteh.

The fifth member, Mrs. Aisha Ahmed, defected to the Peoples Democratic Movement.

Details later. .

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Breaking: Five reps jump PDP for APC, 5 APC reps join SDP