10th Assembly: Secret Adoption Of Abbas, Kalu By Gbajabiamila Falls Apart As Members-elect Mobilise Against Plot

…Coalition Rejects Imposition

Plot by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to impose a speaker and a deputy on the 10th Assembly in the House of Representatives has fallen apart after the discovery of the plan.

Some members-elect who are aggrieved at Gbajabiamila’s secret plot frown at his action which they said is unparliamentary and undemocratic even as they have begun mobilisation to scupper the plot.

This is as a group known as Democrats Alliance for Good Governance, DAGG, has rejected any idea of what it called imposition vowing that no efforts would be spared to ensure members elect leaders they deem can steer the affairs of the House.

There are media reports about Gbajabiamila’s purported plot that Hon. Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna State and Hon. Benjamin Kalu from Abia State, have been adopted for the positions of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively.

The speaker has not denied the reports.

But rising against Gbajabiamila’s alleged plot on Saturday, the group condemned in strong terms the report making rounds on the secret adoption.

They noted that it is “an affront on the Parliamentarians and the National Assembly as an Institution.”

The group made their position known through a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Dr. Williams Martins, in Abuja.

The statement 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,” Bola Tinubu.

The group lamented that, “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.”

The group noted that men of goodwill and conscience as well as elected public office holders “can not afford to fold our 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 statement noted.

The statement admonished that, “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 the same at all times.

“Rather than doing this, we wish to State unequivocally that none of us as Parliamentarians will subscribe to 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.

The group accused Gbajabiamila of deceit, reminiscing that, “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.”

An aggrieved member who vented his anger at the development made it clear that they had nothing against those Gbajabiamila has plotted to impose on the House.

“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 the Constituents will determine the choice of who to lead the 10th Assembly,” the member said on condition of anonymity.

He further noted that, “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 of 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 Cards will work in the 10th Assembly!!!'”

“On this note, we wish to State categorically that we will not cave-in to the 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 lovers 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