The
Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has
replied the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, over his
admission that he worked for the emergence of the current Speaker,
Yakubu Dogara, as against Gbajabiamila's bid for the office.
Femi Gbajabiamila and Aminu Tambuwal
According to Premium Times, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, who is the
immediate past Speaker, said on Sunday that although he had strong
affinity with Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, he, alongside seven other
principal officers of the last Assembly, opted for Mr. Yakubu Dogara.
It would be recalled that Dogara and Gbajabiamila competed for the
position of Speaker of the 8th Assembly, which the former won despite
stiff opposition from the leadership of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) and the party’s power brokers.
Meanwhile, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila who is the current Majority
Leader of the House of Representatives, has responded to the confession
of Aminu Tambuwal, the Governor of Sokoto state saying he has "moved
on". His response was contained in a brief message to the correspondent
of Premium Times after being contacted.
“For me I have moved on and I can only wish him the best in his
future undertakings. I guess Alhaji Tambuwal has finally spoken.”
Tambuwal's support of Dogara was shocking to followers of politics
as Gbajabiamila played a prominent role in the emergence of Tambuwal as
the Speaker of the 7th Assembly while Dogara opposed his emergence.
Mr. Tambuwal had spoken about his role in the emergence of Mr. Dogara when leaders of Sayawa Community of Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa Local Government Areas of Bauchi State paid him a “thank you” visit to show appreciation to him for supporting their kinsman to become speaker.
He had said, “The survival of the legislature as an important arm of government made it imperative that competent hands are headhunted to be its leaders.
“Eight out of ten members of the Body of Principal Officers in the last Assembly supported Dogara’s aspiration,” he said. “Only Hon Femi (Gbajabiamila) and Hon Datti Ahmad supported Femi.
“I have strong affinity with Hon Femi. He was closer to me than Dogara. But when talking about leadership and collective decisions, sentiments have to be put aside. I’m not here to tell you that my support made Dogara the Speaker, no. Two things made Dogara to become the Speaker, one is God and two, Dogara’s competence.”
“The acknowledgement of Dogara’s competence did not start with me. It started from the time of Hon Patricia Etteh and Hon Dimeji Bankole when they entrusted him with a sensitive position of the Chairman of House Services Committee.
“The committee is one of the most sensitive in the legislature. Apart from taking care of the welfare of members, the committee oversees all procurement processes. As the Speaker, I only did what my predecessors did by giving Dogara this sensitive position.
“No person, as far as I know, has ever served as chairman of the House Services committee in two dispensations. Dogara broke that jinx. All through my tenure, I brought Dogara close to me because I found in him a person who is competent, accommodating, and with capacity to lead.
“Anyone doubting Dogara’s ability to lead, should ask members of the 7th Assembly how he handled their matter. So we supported Dogara not for any reason but because he was competent to deliver on any task given to him,” Tambuwal said.