It is a new dawn for Nigeria, as Nigerians once again prepare for a change of power at the top most level, with the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration preparing to hand over power to the President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu later this month. This will mark the full actualization of the “Renewed Hope” mandate, translating to power to administer, and direct the affairs of our country, which millions of Nigerians earnestly look forward to already.
Characteristic of our democracy, the National Assembly which comprises of the Senate and House of Representatives play important roles in every Presidential administration through lawmaking and oversight functions. Their collaborative impact is necessary to ensure a working, stable and growing country, as well as a smooth and level running regime devoid of turbulence, as these are major factors that contributes to the success of any administration.
It is no longer news that the leadership tussle for the 10th Assembly of the House of Representatives has since commenced, with interested elected Reps members from across the nation, consistently lobbying political actors, stakeholders and their colleagues in the race to emerge as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 2023-2027 political calendar years.
Few weeks after the conclusion of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, a number of aspirants had sprung forth, and they individually commenced liaising with relevant stakeholders, consulting political and social heavyweights across the country, as well as lobbying their colleagues with whom they will work collaboratively in the 10th Assembly of the House of Representatives.
For the incoming president’s administration to be able to focus and deliver on its promises to Nigerians, it remains paramount that a cooperative, collaborative and understanding National Assembly leadership is formed. In this case, the House of Representatives leadership must be formed without undue and overreaching interference that can cause disunity and destabilization, as it is sadly been observed quite recently.
The media space was few days ago awash with news about the secret endorsement of Hon. Tajudeen Abbas by the President-Elect, and though unsubstantiated nor confirmed by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu till date, the publicity secretary of the party made a release few hours ago stating that the APC had decided on Hon. Tajudeen Abbas as Speaker for the 10th Assembly. Several reports have fingered the outgoing Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila for being behind such endorsement and adoption plot, which is an affront and disrespect to the independence and sanctity of the green chamber. This form of open endorsement has the tendency to cause disaffection amongst reps-elect, and it has the capacity to bring turbulence to the incoming administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
While some reports have concluded that Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has an ulterior motive for working hard to get the President-Elect and the party’s endorsement of his preferred candidate in Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, another section feels that Asiwaju’s adversaries have found a loophole through which they can get to him and destabilize his government in the future. This they believe is possible due to the evidently inconsistent attitude and fair weather support that Hon. Tajudeen Abbas’ well known leader, in the person of Governor Nasir El-Rufai have shown towards Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the years.
The Kaduna State Governor has over time publicly shown his disdain for the incoming President. Derogatorily and otherwise, he has displayed more hate than love, and it won’t be a surprise at any point in time much later, that he turns against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu again. And if by then, his loyal follower Hon. Tajudeen Abbas through Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila’s lobbying of the President-Elect and the party scales through to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, then Asiwaju Bola Ahmed will definitely be embroiled in an internal war which has the capacity to undermine and sabotage his administration, as Hon. Tajudeen Abbas will become a ready instrument of war in the hands of his leader and benefactor, Governor Nasir El-Rufai to whom he remains absolutely loyal.
A couple of days ago, it was widely reported that the erstwhile Secretary of the now dissolved Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council, Hon. James Faleke had challenged Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila at their Lagos Caucus meeting for been unnecessarily meddlesome and for falsely quoting the President-Elect, so as to gather reps-elect support for Hon. Tajudeen Abbas’ Speakership ambition. This, Hon. James Faleke reportedly claim is outrightly contrary to the President-Elect’s position on the set up of the 10th Assembly leadership of the House of Representatives.
It now becomes imperative to ask, that between Hon. James Faleke and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who holds Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s interest most to heart? This is because, many have observed that Hon. James Faleke had committed his entire being to the actualization of Asiwaju’s Presidency, while Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has a mind of his own, and was reportedly positioning himself to the Villa cabal as an alternative at a point when the road was rough and getting the Presidential ticket was an uphill task for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The roles Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila played in this regard is well known to many who were privy to the internal workings of the party and the villa at that time. What was the role of Hon. James Faleke at that time?
As the presidential inauguration day inches closer, it is vital that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu critically examines all ideas and advices given by close allies, to avoid making decisions that would be of great defect, mess and disadvantage to the smooth kick off of his administration, and that would cause needless rancor in the very important 10th Assembly of the House of Representatives.
Signed:
Progressives for Change Group.
