The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday dared the Peoples Democratic Party by paying a working visit to the National Assembly complex in Abuja without security details.
The PDP had after Tambuwal announced his defection to the All Progressives Congress last week, asked him to resign as speaker or be impeached.
It also initiated moves to compel its caucus in the House to reconvene on Tuesday (yesterday), instead of Deember 3 which the Speaker had adjourned sitting of the House.
On Monday, Tambuwal and the APC got a relief from a Federal High Court in Abuja which directed that the status quo in the House be maintained till Friday.
Ostensibly buoyed by the court order, the Speaker arrived at the assembly on Tuesday to declare open public hearings by two committees of the House.
The Speaker personally drove his official Range Rover SUV into the premises without security personnel.
He was however was shielded to the venues of the sittings by APC lawmakers led by the Chairman, House Committee on Education, Aminu Suleiman.
One of the meetings he declared open was a hearing by the Committee on Public Accounts on a “Bill for an Act to Repeal the Audit Act of 1956 and to Re-Enact the Audit Act of 2010…”
Tambuwal declined to speak with journalists as he was quickly shielded back to his car by the APC members after the ceremonies.
The much speculated reconvening of the House by PDP members on Tuesday did not take place.
The doors to the chambers which were shut last week when Tambuwal adjourned sitting till December 3, remained so on Tuesday.
The Majority Leader of the House, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, has accused the Speaker, his Deputy, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, and the Deputy House Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, of playing a game on her over Tambuwal’s defection.
Tambuwal had cashed in on a motion for adjournment moved by Akande-Adeola and adjourned the House.
The majority leader came under heavy criticism from the PDP, which blamed her for allowing the speaker to defect under her nose and getting away with a lengthy adjournment of the House.
But Akande-Adeola told journalists at the National Assembly complex on Tuesday that she had no concrete evidence that Tambuwal was defecting until the announcement came abruptly on October 28.
She added that it was until he defected that it dawned on her that there was a game going on, which Tambuwal, Ihedioha and Ogor knew about but kept her in the dark.
Akande-Adeola said, “At that point in the chamber, I didn’t feel anyhow but after he made his statement then I knew that there was something that must have been planned that I was not aware of.
“Because if you know me very well, I deal with everyone on equal basis and I have a very open mind. I don’t think it would have been out of place for the speaker to even tell me he was moving . I don’t think that would have been out of place.
“The only thing would have been may be to ask him a few questions and all that. We are colleagues in the House. We represent different constituencies.
“What is good for him may not be good for me. He has his reasons for doing whatever he has done. But I would have expected that I was told no matter what. So, that is just it.”
She recalled that before the motion for adjournment was moved, she asked Ihedioha and Ogor if the speculated defection plan of Tambuwal was true but both officials brushed off her question.
Akande-Adeola revealed that a meeting of the leadership had taken place on October 27 where the issue of the appropriate date for the adjournment was discussed.
She claimed to have opposed the lengthy defection to December 3 because it did not tally with that of the Senate, which is November 4.
The leader added that she even reported to the meeting that December 3 was not realistic because the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, had already briefed her that the Senate would reconvene on November 4.
However, she said her position was overruled by the majority of the nine members of the leadership in attendance, including Tambuwal.
She admitted that the meeting eventually agreed on December 3 after everyone agreed that the period would be used for oversight duties and party primaries.
She clarified that Tambuwal’s defection was not an item on the agenda of the meeting, neither was mention of it made throughout the session.
The House Leader added, “After all the reasoning and everything, we agreed that first, members should go and work on their tickets and that the House will adjourn for the first two weeks to allow members conclude all the reports in their various committees. And the following two weeks will be for oversight functions towards the budget. That was what we agreed on.”
However, Akande-Adeola did not meet with Tambuwal. She went straight into her office after speaking with journalists while the Speaker was still busy at the sitting of one of the two committees.
When contacted, Ogor dismissed the allegation that he joined Tambuwal and Ihedioha to play a game on the leader over the defection.
He described the allegation as “strange” and called for proof.
“If I was aware, it became my responsibility to tell her. I was not aware (of the defection). He who alleges must show proof.”
Ogor also spoke on the views expressed by the APC caucus that only Tambuwal could reconvene the House.
He argued that the speaker’s consent was not required in this “peculiar” circumstance to reconvene the House because Tambuwal was the subject matter.
Ogor said, “The Speaker is an interested party and cannot be a judge in his own case.
“The principles of fair hearing demand that it is very difficult for him to be the one to reconvene the House.”
Ogor explained that the rules of the House recognised the existence of other minority parties outside the APC.
He claimed that the other parties and the PDP could reconvene the House without the consent of Tambuwal so long as a quorum of 120 members was formed. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Traitor Tambuwal , we Nigerians saw u earlier when u maneuver to becom the speaker of the House of Rep. In the same coni way , you have betray the confidence of Nigerians and soon u will be caught in or into the act
ReplyDeleteStory Story!!!!........ Story. More Stories coming to PDP... they will come as a SHOCKER. Wait It wont be long.
ReplyDeletedis are d holigans dat found dem slf witin d coridor of power.agbero.
ReplyDelete