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Tag: 10th Speakership

  • Members-elect kick against secret adoption of Abbas, Kalu by outgoing Speaker, others 

    Members-elect kick against secret adoption of Abbas, Kalu by outgoing Speaker, others 

    …says it’s an affront on lawmakers

    Democrats Alliance for Good Governance (DAGG) on Saturday condemned in strong terms the report making rounds on the “secret adoption” of one of the Aspirants for the position of the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives.

    In the same vein, a group of Members-elect who frowned at the purported “secret adoption” which reportedly took place on Friday night, described the exercise as “an affront on the Parliamentarians and the National Assembly as an Institution.”

    The Coalition’s National Coordinator Dr. Williams Martins stated this in a statement made available to Journalists in Abuja.

    He said: “We are most jolted and sincerely betrayed especially when we got the hint that the preferred Aspirant was taking by hand to be introduced to the President-elect.

    “This development for us is not only demeaning, but degrading and absurd for the calibre of Nigerians who were elected by over 50 million Electorates who voted during the 25th February and Supplementary elections.”

    According to the Group, “Men of goodwill and Conscience as well as elected Public Office holders can not afford to fold out hands to allow someone who is being reported to be adopted as Chief of Staff to the incoming President-elect, although a Member-elect in the 10th Assembly, to in a reckless manner feels he can succeed in imposing any Candidate on the People’s Parliament.

    “To allow such means, they (Members-elect) are unfit for the task of representation and will definitely fail in holding the Executive Arm of Government to account when the need arises within the span of four years of the 10th Assembly.

    The Coalition’s National Coordinator therefore warned against any action that may frustrate a united 10th Assembly and tenets of democracy.

    “To put it succinctly, all the actors in the Nigerian projects should be seen as honourable men and women who honour gentlemen discussion and reciprocate same at all times.

    “Rather than doing this, we wish to State unequivocally that none of the us as Parliamentarians will subscribe for anything short of what the Constitution stipulates on Independence of the Legislature.

    “You’ll recall that some of the Aspirants met with the outgoing Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila to express our grouse about the unhealthy and unparliamentary actions and inactions of adopting his stooge.

    “As if they were taken for a ride, the Convener of the meeting, denied the allegation of adopting our Colleague, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna State and Hon. Benjamin Kalu from Abia State as the Deputy Speaker,” he noted.

    While calling for a rethink, the Group Coordinator urged President-elect and the outgoing Speaker to desist from any act that could bring their names into disrepute.

    “We actually thought that with the way the Speaker spoke to his Colleagues during the closed door meeting was done in genuine faith, but as you can all see it was a deceptive meeting,” he lamented.

    Meanwhile, one of the aggrieved lawmakers who spoke under condition of anonymity dismissed insinuations over the alleged ill-feelings against Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and the Spokesman of the House, Hon. Benjamin Kalu (APC-Abia).

    He said: “While we do not have anything against the person and aspiration of the gentleman, we wish to stress that the will of the people and by extension of Constituents will determine the choice of who to lead the 10th Assembly.

    “For us, what played out some few weeks back has further exposed the hidden agenda of the promoters of division among his contemporaries. Rather than reciprocating the kind gestures extended to him by most of the Ranking Members who out of persuasion and honour, stepped down their Speakership ambitions in the wake to the inauguration of the 9th Assembly.

    “But it is glaring that nothing can be done to change the nature of the chameleon.

    “History will not forgive us if we fail to put in perspective the fallback of the similar antics that produced the anchor of this failed project of imposition and the ill-feelings created by some of the offers dangled before some of the reception adopted to ensure the emergence of the Tajudeen Abbas project. This time, “No Green Card will work”! I repeat again, “No amount of Green Card will work in the 10th Assembly!!!”

    “On this note, we wish to State categorically that we will not cave-in to ongoing plan to impose any Candidate on the House by whosoever until a level playing field is created for all the Aspirants who have their own right to choose their Leaders.

    “It is worthy to also put on record that, discussions are ongoing among the Aspirants to turn the Parliament into an appendage of the Executive arm of Government.

    “Our position remains that as Democrats, we shall not under any guise subscribe to any form of ‘Master and Servant relationship’ in the 10th Assembly.

    “Therefore we call on all men of goodwill and lover of democracy to speak against ongoing moves to deepen “godfatherism” in the country.”

    “We must stand up to resist Femi Gbajabiamila’s imposition on members, we will not buy in,” the lawmaker said

  • Speakership Race: Betara remains unbeatable, says Gudaji

    Speakership Race: Betara remains unbeatable, says Gudaji

    Leading aspirant for the Speakership seat of the House of Representatives, Hon Muktar Aliyu Betara remains unbeatable in the race for the Speakership of the House of Representatives.

    A member of the House of Representatives, Hon Mohammed Gudaji Kazaure in a goodwill made this known during the unveiling ceremony of the Speakership aspiration of Hon Yusuf Adamu Gagdi held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

    He described Betara as a man with tremendous goodwill that could easily sweep the race for the Speakership of the 10th Assembly.

    The Jigawa born politician recalled that Betara singlehandedly influenced the votes that led to the emergence of Yakubu Dogara and his successor, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila as Speakers of the House of Representatives in the 8th and 9th Assemblies.

    He maintained that Betara who chairs the House committee on Appropriation remains indispensable as far as the race for the speakership of the 10th Assembly is concerned.

    He advised Gagdi to strike a deal with Betara to decide on which of them would succeed the outgoing Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.

    He said: “The truth is Betara is the major contender in this race. If he is with Gagdi, he would win 100 percent. They understand each other. They Know each other. Betara is a good man, he is a very gentleman who is always calm and silent. The only thing with him is that he doesn’t know how to say no.

    “For me, we need a Speaker who would say no. I advice members to vote for Gagdi. I am planning to go and meet Betara and tell him to come and join Gagdi. Betara deserves the Speakership seat which he is now trying to take.”

    Kazaure who warned the APC leadership against imposition of Speakership candidate on the House described Betara as the father of the House that is well liked and admired by the entire members of the House of Representatives.

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  • SPEAKERSHIP: Minority members-elect caucus to set up 11-man Cttee to source credible candidates for speaker, deputy in their fold

    SPEAKERSHIP: Minority members-elect caucus to set up 11-man Cttee to source credible candidates for speaker, deputy in their fold

    The minority caucus of Members-elect in the House of Representatives, after a meeting on Tuesday resolved to set up an eleven-man committee to fish out credible candidates within their fold to produce a body of principal officers for all key positions.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports these resolutions were contained in a communique issued at the end of the second extraordinary meeting held on Tuesday ahead of the inauguration of the 10th Assembly on June 13.

    The caucus comprises of members of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Social Democratic Party (SDP), African Democratic Party (ADC), Youth Progressive Party (YPP), and New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP).

    The communique reads in part: “The Greater Majority with more than 180 elected members (being over 50% of elected members) will remain one indivisible coalition during the 10th National Assembly, with the interest of the country as its driving force

    “That the greater Majority of the 10th National Assembly will be continually guided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with the collective interest of Nigerians being its major concern.

    “To assure Nigerians not to lose hope due to the country’s current unpleasant situation, including the disunity plaguing the nation, which is the direct consequence of APC’s misrule and that the Greater majority of the incoming 10° National assembly will remedy these problems as a matter of priority. 6.The Great majority will continue to unify the coalition of opposition parties so that it can be an effective check on the ruling party in order to safeguard”.

    Earlier the convener of the meeting, Hon. Fredrick Agbedi (PDP) Bayelsa State, in his welcome address congratulated all the members of the Minority Parties for the successes so far and urged them to stay together for their common good.

    According to Agbedi, the meeting was organised to enable us to access the work we have done in our various zones” and reminded members on the need to stay focused and not be distracted.

    The Leader of the Labour Party, Hon George Ozodinobi, who spoke on behalf of the South-East Caucus, said the South-East members of the Minority Caucus have resolved to change the narrative.

    He noted that the South-East caucus has resolved to follow where other caucus members has aligned with to have a new Nigeria.

    “We are in totally with the greater minority. Our major aim is to have a new Nigeria and that new Nigeria, we are urging other caucuses to join to have a new Nigeria”. Hon Ozodinobi said.

    Hon. Oluwole Oke, urged all Minority Caucus members to remain united, assuring that the South-West is fully aligned with the decisions of the caucuses.

    “We are committed to this unity, to this progress, to this understanding that we shall work together to deliver to Nigerians the dividends of democracy.

    That we shall live up to the expectations of section four of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria”. Hon Oke said.

    He reiterated that the South-West caucus was committed to giving their various parties the proper image based on their mandates.

    From the North-East, Hon. Awalu Gwadabe, said that the 10th Assembly was unique as the rulling party does not have the highest number of members.

    ” Today, the tenth National Assembly as well as the party that is rulling the country does not have two-third members, neither do we as the greater minority. I believe we are going to give the rulling party a very serious challenge in the National Assembly once we stand united together irrespective of our party affiliations”. Hon Gwadabe said.

    He added that the North-East caucus would make its position known in a matter of days.

    The North-Central zone, represented by Hon Pastor Ojena, said that for the greater minority to succeed, members must put aside their personal interests.

    According to him, in order to achieve the desired goal, members must work as a team.

    Other speakers from other zones also pledged to help the caucus to succeed.

    On her part, Hon Lilian Orogbu
    re-echoed the inclusion of women in the mainstream affairs of the National Assembly; adding that the issues of women in parliament must be respected.

    “We are here to support this initiative. We are here to support the agenda wr are here to support the ideology and we crave for more involvement of women in this group”. Hon Orogbu said.

    On their part, members of the North-West caucus represented by Hon. MD Shehu, said that the zone was in on the ideas of the greater minority caucus.

    He added that all members must have the sincerity of purpose in the journey.

  • 10th NASS: Ag PDP chairman, Damagum advises members-elect to put APC on its toes

    10th NASS: Ag PDP chairman, Damagum advises members-elect to put APC on its toes

    Members-elect of the main opposition, party in Nigeria, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have been charged to put the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government on its toes.

    The Acting National Chairman of the PDP Umar Damagum, stated this at a meeting with members-elect to formally welcome and congratulate them on their electoral victory in Abuja on Tuesday,

    Damagum who urged the members to be firm in lawmaking, said that putting the ruling party on their toes was one of the ways of making them work for the country.

    He said: “You have a daunting task before you because of the state of the nation. You have been elected at a time when the country is no longer what we used to know. It has been bedeviled by so many vices and people are looking up to you to correct the rot.

    “When you make laws, it is expected that you are helping the society and in act of making laws you should be mindful of the fact that the society is no longer what you use to know and you have to be firm. You have to be loyal to your country first and then the party. Loyalty to the country because it is only when you have a country that you can even exist as a lawmaker.

    “Most of you that have spoken have been grateful to the party for giving you the platform to be here today. We don’t expect anything else from you rather than to be a loyal party member.

    “Most of you will be concerned about the current situation of the party, it is always like that. When you have an election year there will be a lot of crisis. If you look at it from your primaries up to the time when you were elected, you have gone through a lot and I know the party is going through the same kind of situations. But one thing I want to assure you is that PDP has the mechanism to solve its own problems.

    “The initiative you have taken upon yourself before we even call upon you to make this gathering possible is also one of the reasons why I said we have the mechanism. You have done well, I have interacted with some of your leaders towards build up to this gathering and I don’t expect any PDP member to be less in terms of that acumen and capacity, we have always been known to be full of capacity in terms of what we want to achieve. I don’t expect less from you. I want to reiterate like some of you have said here that this 10th Assembly should come and make sure that it gives the right opposition that is expected of you.

    “I always have hope in the House of Representatives, I am not saying the Senate are not doing much but you are the people that are directly closer to the constituencies and much is expected of you and I hope that ours is going to be a joint credible opposition and we give it to them; we put them to task, we put them on their toes to make sure that the right thing is being done in this country because this is what need at this moment”.

    The convener of the meeting, Hon. Frederick Agbedi, in his opening remarks said that the meeting was to seek a direction from the party on how to proceed in the incoming 10th assembly.

    According to him, the PDP has the numerical strength of 116 to achieve its objectives in the parliament.

    “We came to interact with you to give us a direction as we journey on towards 13 June. Guide us, direct us where necessary”, he said.

    Also speaking, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji from Enugu State said that the PDP was ready to use “Our number to get strength in the House.”

    Others who spoke thanked the party for making the platform available for them to contest the election.

  • 10th Assembly: 231 women groups want Senate Presidency, Deputy or Speaker

    10th Assembly: 231 women groups want Senate Presidency, Deputy or Speaker

    Over 231 women organisations under the aegis of Womanifesto are demanding the inclusion of women either as Senate President, Deputy Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    The coalition declared that since gender equity was critical to sustainable development, Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind.

    The CSOs which constitute members of Womanifesto included The Woman Today Newspaper, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), 100 Women Lobby Group, ActionAid Nigeria, Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, Christian Women in Nigerian Politics, Women in Politics Forum (WiPF), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF) and Enough Is Enough Nigeria (EiE).

    Others are Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Kimpact Initiatives, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Women Aid Collective (WACOL) and Yiaga Africa.

    Womanifesto in a statement by its Convener and Executive Director of WARDC, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, said having women serve as parliamentary principal officers would contribute tremendously to inclusive governance and national development in the next dispensation.

    The statement titled: “Women groups call for more women in leadership positions at the National and State Assemblies”, was obtained by journalists in Abuja.

    Akiyode-Afolabi said, “At least 44 per cent of Nigeria’s voting population are women, yet less than 5 per cent of the 1,553 women who contested the 2023 elections across Nigeria were elected. Despite the consistent push for increased representation of women in politics–elective and appointive positions, the just concluded 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections show alarming underrepresentation of women.

    “For instance, of the 1,459 Legislative seats at the state and national levels, so far, women have won only 75 seats. Alarmingly, there are 15 states without a single woman in their State House of Assembly.

    “It is of great concern that in the election into the Nigerian parliament from 1999 till date, only 176 women have been elected (new and repeat) as compared to 3,107 for their male counterparts. In the coming 10th National Assembly, there is a reduction from eight women in the Senate to three, while in the House of Representatives, only 17 women have been elected so far compared to the 13 in the outgoing 9th Assembly.

    “It is no wonder that as of February 2023 the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ranks Nigeria 183 out of 193 countries in Women’s Representation in National Parliaments. In Nigeria’s 24 years of democracy, no woman has been Senate President or Deputy Senate President. Patricia Etteh is the only woman to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives from June to October 2007. Hon. Mulikat Akande was the first woman elected as Majority Leader at the Federal Legislative level in 2011.

    “More women need to be elected to leadership positions in the National Assembly of Nigeria irrespective of the current numbers. These women represent about 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population and this should be reflected in the parliament’s leadership. This is a matter of equity and social inclusion.

    “The National Assembly is constitutionally vested with several functions, such as lawmaking, confirmation of nominations, representation, oversight, scrutinizing bills, legislative proposals, and motions, etc. Most of these functions are achieved through Committees made up of Distinguished Senators and Honorable Members of the House of Representatives. Section 62(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) empowers the Senate and the House of Representatives to appoint Committees of special and general purpose as may be expedient.

    “The Senate is charged with intervening in matters of national security, epidemic, poverty drought, and government and labor union disputes for industrial unity. Senate also confirms the President’s nominations for senior diplomats, federal judges, and members of INEC. Federal and state lawmakers duly elected to the National Assembly are vanguards of Nigeria’s democracy, peace, development, and unity. Decisions being made in parliament need to mainstream gender inclusion and equity.

    “With Nigerian women successfully leading in various fields globally, it is vital that they take the lead in parliament and its Committees. Besides, gender equity and inclusion are a matter of efficiency and merit. In light of the foregoing, we demand the inclusion of women among the top three slots of Principal Officers of the Nigerian Parliament either as Senate President, Deputy Senate President, or Speaker.

    “There are qualified women among the elected National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. In addition, it is the reality of the day that gender equity is critical to sustainable development; and Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind. Having women serve as parliamentary Principal Officers would contribute tremendously to inclusive governance and national development in the next dispensation.

    “More than ever, we demand that:
    The Gender and Equal Opportunities (GEO) Bill be passed;
    the five gender bills be re-debated and voted for, as the rejection of these bills has harmed Nigerian women, the country, and our social capital and more resources be allocated to pursue an equal society.”