By Olugbenga Salami
Excited at the composition of the standing committees of the House of Representatives, some lawmakers across the six geo-political zones in the county, on Saturday passed a vote of confidence on the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, and his deputy, Hon. Benjamin Kalu.
The long-awaited list of the committees was announced at Thursday’s plenary by the Speaker Abbas.
The forum of the lawmakers led by the member representing Ideato North and South Federal Constituency of Imo State, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu, includes; Jafaru Gambo (Bauchi), Sadiq Abdullahi (Kaduna), Anthony Adepoju (Oyo), Stainless Nwodo (Enugu), Ali Mustapha (Kaduna) and Patrick Umoh (AkwaI bom)
In a joint statement signed by Ugochinyere, who was named the chairman of the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), the lawmakers said Abbas and Kalu did their best to navigate a very difficult task, adding that “the 10th House is a peaceful and will be a very productive one.”
According to them, they said in an exercise like that not everyone will be happy and satisfied, however, the leadership in their actions fulfilled the promise of having a united House.
They also pointed out how magnanimous the duo was in giving committees to some of their colleagues who contested against them during the speakership electioneering campaigns.
“Majority of the members have commended the Speaker and his Deputy for carrying all interests along in the decision that led to composition of the principal officers and the chairmanship of the standing committees,” they stated.
The lawmakers noted that the selection committee did a good job by considering competence, fairness, equality in the choice of lawmakers chosen to head the various committees.
They particularly praised Abass and Kalu for prioritising gender balance in the composition of the committees, by giving some of the committees to women parliamentarians.
The Speaker and his deputy were also praised for being magnanimous by given committees to their major challengers who were Hon. Ahmed Wase, Hon. Aliyu Betara, Hon. Aminu Jaji, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, Hon. Ado Doguwa and Hon. Miriam Onuoha.
“Despite baseless rumours of hijack of the process by the Presidency, the committee members were focused and carried out the task with fairness and justice in mind. It was a job well done without any external influence,” the lawmakers stated.
