PDP members-elect grill Gbajabiamila, Bago, others, say ‘no deal yet’

Aspirants for the speakership of the 9th House of Representatives made manifesto presentations before the joint minority caucuses of the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and other political parties.

There were loud chants of his name, the excitement and the smiles were broad.

That was the scenario that greeted Honourable Umaru Mohammed Bago’s entry into the Niger Hall of the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, penultimate Wednesday night, where the members-elect and minority caucuses of the House of Representatives gathered to grill their counterparts from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, jostling for the position of Speaker of the incoming 9th House.

Besides the popular section, there was a panel made up of veterans in the legislative safaris. The moderator was the Deputy Minority Leader of the House, Chukwuka Onyema.

“My name is Mohammed Umaru Bago. I represent Chanchagi Federal Constituency. I am from Niger State. I hold two master’s degrees, the last one from the Cambridge University,” he said.

With the short introductory profile, he delved into the crux of the matter, which was to solicit the support of his colleagues to head the House of Representatives of the 9th National Assembly.

Only ten minutes was given for speeches and another five minutes to answer questions.

And so, he rushed through his manifesto extempore, explaining to his colleagues it was going to be a win-win situation for them if they elect him as the first among equals.

He said: “The job of a Speaker is that of somebody who is first among equals. We will not at any time encourage a puppet Speaker. You are my bosses and I will draw my powers from you. The second issue is welfare. The welfare of our colleagues cannot be taken for granted. We will ensure that our welfare is not compromised. As a Speaker, I will encourage our colleagues to set up an empowerment programme.”

After the remarks came the question and answer session. But many people waved their hands in convivial protest against the session, indicating it was overtly needless and inconsequential. But there was a friendly insistence and compromise. Then came the questions, in torrents.

One of the questions was whether he would eventually step down, perhaps, on the floor of the House on the inauguration day if compelled to do. His response was both courageous reassuring.

“I think even when I did not have a stake as much as this, I never backed out. Now that I have a stake, it means there is no going back. You can take my words to the bank”, he said.

Apparently satisfied with the answers, the Speaker hopeful from the North-Central was asked to take a bow, go round, have a handshake with as many members as he could and exit the hall.

Dyegh, Onyejiocha, Odebumi, Olatunbosun, Nwajiuba take turns

Before Bago, those who had made presentations were Reps John Dyegh, Nkiruka Onyejiocha, Olusegun Odebunmi and Olajide Olatunbosun.

Rep Emeka Nwajiuba came afterwards.

Dyegh represents Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency of Benue State. He’s cerebral and holds a Doctorate Degree.

He said: “We are going to be more engaging with civil society organizations and all that. We are going to make the budget open. We are going to have training and retraining of members. We must have robust relationship with the executive. With the committees, we will ensure that first timers, new members are very well taken care of.”

Onyejiocha harps on respect for federal character

Onyejiocha represents Isiukwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia State, South-East. She is a beauty to behold and equally an egghead. She is about completing her doctoral having done her first seminar paper and thesis. To her, federal character as enshrined in the Constitution must be respected in the sharing of political powers.

She said: “I will ensure good executive-legislature relations. I will ensure that our constituents, members of the public change their perception about us. It is my duty as Speaker to ensure that these perceptions change. We must have improved internal communications. There must be a time-frame for all our legislative duties, so that we can give back to our constituents.

“We will continue to work on the Constitution and electoral reforms. We will continue to talk about security of lives and property. As Speaker, I will ensure that this happens so that we can sleep with our two eyes closed.

Emotional Argument

“I am from the South-East. APC has zoned the speakership to South-West; it is not good that we shy away from this. The Constitution says we should respect federal character. Why would South-East not matter when you have the President from North-West, Vice President from South-West, Senate President from the North-East and Deputy Senate President understandably coming from South-South?

“What has happened to South-East and North-Central? Are we not Nigerians? I believe very strongly that the South-East should produce the next Speaker and I want to be the next Speaker”.

Asked by the panel if she won’t bow to pressure to sideline the opposition on the sharing of committees according to her party’s wishes, Onyejiocha, who was until late last year a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said there will be no subtle punishment for the opposition.

All-inclusive House

To Odebunmi, who represents Surulere/Ogoluwa Federal Constituency of Oyo State, South-West, the 9th House will run an all-inclusive administration if elected the Speaker.

No imposition of candidates – Olatunbosun

Also making his presentation, Olatunbosun, representing Atisbo/Saki East/Saki West Federal Constituency of Oyo State, South-West, told the opposition caucus that he would serve them well as Speaker, warning against imposition of any candidate on the House.

“We are the symbol of this democracy. If by the grace of God, you give me your mandate, I am going to serve you. Your welfare is important to me. Our destinies will be determined by us. We are not going to surrender it to external parties. Capacity building is also key for me. We are at the crossroads. We must stand to be counted. We will not allow imposition. We are going to have what we call project unity. I will defend the Independence of the legislature with the last drop of my blood.   If we need to bite, we will bite,” he said.

I will run House differently- Nwajiuba

Nwajiuba is hitherto a dark horse amongst many contemporary lawmakers. Though he debuted at the dawn of democracy in 1999 as a member who represented Ehime Mbano, Ihette Uboma and Obowo Federal Constituency of Imo State, South-East, he later took a sabbatical from national politics. He is also a former Chairman of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and a holder of a Doctorate Degree in Law. His reappearance on the national political scene happened only recently when the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, withdrew the Certificate of Return (CoR) from Chike Okafor and brought him on board. He comes on the platform of Accord Party but rumoured to have strong links with President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC.

Standing before his colleagues, Nwajiuba said he would run the House

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