In a bid to extricate herself from blame by the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, has revealed how she was lured to attend a meeting where the plot to adjourn the House to 3rd December, 2014 was hatched.
Former deputy leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Mao Ohuabunwa, has however declared that Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal ought to resign on moral grounds following his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Besides, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), a socio-cultural group dedicated to protecting and pushing the interest of the Yoruba has described Tambuwal as a usurper who hijacked the position since 2011, saying he should immediately cede the post to a Yoruba legislator in the Lower Chamber.
Akande-Adeola also gave a vivid account of the alleged intrigues and other circumstances that led to what she termed ‘strange adjournment,’ by the Speaker, a development which, according to the PDP could affect the passage of the 2015 budget as well as the MTEF.
Addressing newsmen on the contentious issue in Abuja yesterday, the Majority Leader refuted having prior knowledge of the plan, even as indications emerged that the ruling PDP hierarchy is set to wield the big stick on its members of parliament who had fore knowledge of the plan yet failed to intimate the party.
She further explained that the said adjournment that was moved on that particular day was an unusual adjournment that was not in tandem with the decision arrived at the meeting, which took place in the Abuja private residence of the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha.
Her words: “It’s very imperative that I speak and clear the air on this matter. Because, just this morning (yesterday), I heard the Minority Whip, Samson Osagie was saying on NTA that the leader moved the motion for adjournment. The way he said it, it was as if it was something I did unilaterally and out of the ordinary. As you all know, it is my job as the Leader of the House to move motions for adjournment. But that adjournment that was moved on that particular day was an unusual adjournment.
“Why I say this is that because of the number of days for which the House adjourned. Because prior to this, the leadership met at a meeting in the Deputy Speaker’s guest house. I went for the meeting, which was to kick off at 5pm; I was there at 10 past 5pm. I met only two members of the leadership. Then I waited till 6pm. No other person showed up. So I stood up and went back to my house.
“At about 6:30pm, the Speaker and the deputy were calling me simultaneously, asking me to please come back and attend the meeting. I picked the Speaker’s call and he said, Leader where are you? I said I’m in my house and I cannot start coming back there again after waiting for an hour. I just got back from a trip and I’m tired. I was there for over 45 minutes and he said please, we are all here. And I said my driver has already left. He said okay, I’ll send you a car.
“Before we adjourned for that Tuesday, he had asked me to liaise with the Senate Leader to find out how long they would be going for, because as you know we usually adjourn the same time and come back the same time. And I liaised with him, the Senate Leader told me that they will be adjourning on Tuesday and come back on the fourth of November, which is today (yesterday).
“So when I got to the meeting, I met members of the leadership, and I asked, where’s my Deputy, they said he was on his way from the airport. So later he joined us. The only person who couldn’t come was Ahmed Mukhtar who sent a text to say that he was not feeling well. The nine of us were present at the meeting. The Speaker said, this is a one item-agenda meeting, which deals only with the adjournment that we are going to have.
“He asked what did the Senate Leader say when you contacted him, and I said, the Senate Leader said they are going for just one week. From Tuesday, till the following Tuesday; which is the 4th of November. At that point, everybody raised various issues why we cannot go for just one week and come back. Issues ranging from members having problems in their constituencies and issues of return tickets and so forth.
“I raised the issue of the MTEF, I raised the issue of the budget, they said don’t worry, even the report on that can be ready on the floor tomorrow. There and then, they called the Chairman Finance, but I didn’t know if the Chairman Finance was actually on the phone. What we were told after the phone call was that it will be ready by tomorrow.
“And as you may have noticed, the MTEF was on the order paper the next day but the Chairman Finance was not on the floor. So the report was not taken. So after all the reasoning they agreed that okay, members should go and work on their tickets first. So the House would adjourn for the first two weeks to let members tend to their personal issues at constituency levels, and the following two weeks will be used for oversight functions towards the budget presentation.
“That was what we agreed. On this faithful day, we got to the chamber and if you were there, you would notice that I came in late. Because I wasn’t really looking at my time, I rushed to the chamber. When we were at the chamber, if you check our order paper you will see that there’s a particular interval for announcement as usual, and after the announcement we go to the orders of the day.
“Nothing was said about whether the Speaker was moving or not. Even the meeting we had, nothing was said about that as to whether he was moving or not, even though it was in the media and everybody was talking about it. And when it was not announced at that particular time, I came to my Deputy, and I said Leo, is the Speaker not moving again? And he said he was not doing it again.
“And after the whole thing, I was hearing some people saying that oh, it was the Leader who moved the motion unilaterally, so I feel it is necessary to clear the air. I am a very honourable person, and I will not say anything that has not happened. And I will not fear anybody. I fear only the Almighty God.
“And at the end of the session, the Speaker said, Leader move for the adjournment and I leaned towards the Deputy Speaker and said, is it as agreed, and he said yes. And I got up and moved for the adjournment. And he said, Leo second. And he did. And it was at that point that the Speaker now read the statement about his defection.”
On the adjournment, Akande-Adeola said it was her place to move the motion as the majority leader of the House, just as she lamented the backlash following the development.
When questioned by newsmen how the Speaker, as she alleged deceived her into moving the adjournment because he wanted to decamp and needed the time to cool things down. She replied, “I wouldn’t know. I didn’t read his mind to know that that was what he was going to do.
“ I felt bad that the Speaker could keep such a thing from me. At least we are colleagues, although we represent different constituencies, what is good for me may not be good for him. It was a personal decision that nobody could have prevented him from making. But as colleagues of cordial relationship, I felt bad that I would hear it on that day.”
Speaking with journalists after submitting his senatorial nomination forms at the PDP National Secretariat, Ohuabunwa kicked against attempts to justify Tambuwal’s decision to remain as Speaker. He argued that the defection and resignation question weigh more on the moral obligations than on the legal dimension.
He said, “the rule is that the principal officers are from the majority party. It is time we play politics of morality. It is important we keep high the moral precepts.
“I subscribe that when we decamp like that, taking somebody’s mandate to another party, it is wrong. I expect him to resign from the house and re-seek his people’s mandate.
“The House just reconvened and you adjourn again till December 3rd. When will you have the time to look at the budget? All these are not good. This will affect the country. If we don’t take time, we might not even have budget this year. This might be shifted by the election and other issues.”
He added that if the crisis in the House of Representatives persists, there is a window in the constitution to keep the government running if the budget is delayed.
The Oodua People’s Congress also denied any security pact with the embattled Speaker, and that its members were not providing him protection.
President of the organisation, Dr. Frederick Faseun was reacting in a press statement circulated yesterday in Lagos, to a news report on Sunday that it had dispatched about 60 of its men to provide protection to Tambuwal after police authorities withdrew the security detail attached to the Speaker, following his defection to the opposition APC.
According to Faseun, there could be no meeting point between OPC and Tambuwal because he had usurped the position originally zoned to the South-West.
Largely aided by the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) elements in the Lower Chamber, Tambuwal had defeated the PDP-favoured Mulikat Adeola-Akande (representing Ogbomoso North, South and Orire Constituency in Oyo State) in a contest for the seat.
“Back in 2011, we told Tambuwal that he was a usurper of a seat reserved for the Yoruba, and asked him to vacate the position. But he refused. No way can we now extend any form of assistance to him,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Leo Ogor has faulted the caucus of the All Progressives Congress over its assertion, last Monday that only Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal can reconvene the House.
The APC Caucus at a media briefing led by the Minority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila said, “flowing from the standing orders of the House, the president cannot do it. A political party cannot do it. The Deputy Speaker lacks the power. And indeed, it is beyond the signatures of 120, 150 or even 350 members. That power resides solely, and exclusively with Mr. Speaker.”
But, speaking at the National Assembly yesterday, Ogor, however said the Order 5, Rule 18 cited by the Caucus gave the power to reconvene the House to leaders of the political parties that make up the House, and that it was wrong for the APC Caucus to assume that only the PDP and the APC are in the House.
According to him, once the party leaders meet and agree, and a quorum is formed, the House can reconvene.
Culled from The Guardian.