At last, Gbajabiamila is Reps majority leader

CHRIS EMETOH, Abuja

The lingering crisis in the House of Representatives was finally put to rest, yesterday, as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, conceded to the party’s dictate as he announced Femi Gbajabiamila (APC-Lagos) as the majority leader.

Dogara, who disclosed this after few minutes of consultation outside the chamber, announced Buba Jibrin as deputy majority leader; Ado Doguwa as chief whip and Pally Iriase as deputy chief whip.

For the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Leo Ogor emerged as minority leader; Chukwuma Onyema as deputy minority leader; Yakubu Barde as minority whip and Binta Bello as deputy minority whip.

Few minutes after the announcement, the House was adjourned till another legislative day.

At a post-plenary briefing, Sani Zorro, chairman, Ad hoc Committee on Media and Public Affairs, noted that the crisis that transpired on the floor of the House “were merely transitional in nature.”

Zorro, who described the outcome of the appointment of the principal officers as “triumph of internal democracy in the House”, explained that the resolution was based on “patriotism, constitutionalism, reason and rationality”.

He also assured Nigerians that henceforth, the legislative activities of the House will be conducted without rancour and peacefully.

Zorro, who applauded the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, noted that the president rose above board by not interfering in the House activities and succumb to the “dictates of the dictators” despite the politicking surrounding the choice of principal officers.

The chairman who noted that the president played the role of a game changer, stressed the 20 minutes held on Monday at the instance of the president was a fatherly engagement, in which he insisted on constitutionality thereby debunking the insinuation of being a ‘dictator’.

While reacting to question on the exclusion of the South-East caucus from the principal offices, Zorro noted that all parties have been adequately carried along and would be taken care of accordingly.

It would be recalled that the leadership of the APC had zoned the positions in a letter to the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, on June 23.

In the letter, the party presented Femi Gbajabiamila (South-West) as the House leader; Ado Doguwa (North-West) as deputy leader; Mohammed Monguno (North-East) as chief whip; and Pally Iriase (South South) as deputy chief whip.

The letter from the APC was in response to the lingering leadership crisis that has rocked the House since its inauguration June 9.

Dogara rejected the nominations, and suggested other candidates for the offices.

However, signs that the leadership crisis in the House was about to end emerged yesterday night when the two sides in the crisis adopted an earlier directive from the APC leadership on the zoning of key leadership positions after a make or mar meeting between them.

At Monday’s meeting, at the behest of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Dogara faction and the APC leadership agreed the letter from the party be respected.

Buhari, it was gathered, had ordered the gladiators in the crisis to resolve all pending issues within six hours, ahead of the resumption of House plenary yesterday.

One of the members who attended the meeting, which lasted about 20 minutes, said that the president “did not waste time, but simply reminded members on the need for party discipline.

“He said he never wanted to interfere in the affairs of the legislature, but he’s now forced to do so to maintain party discipline,” the source quoted the president as saying.

The source, who declined to be named because he was not permitted to speak to the media on the outcome of the meeting, said Buhari asked Speaker Yakubu Dogara and Femi Gbajabiamila to hold a meeting with the national chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun and find a solution to the problem within the next six hours.

“The president said it was unacceptable for him to be in office under the APC, and the PDP would be allowed to dictate who occupies positions in an administration he heads,” the source said.

“Buhari urged all members to look beyond themselves and consider the country and the platform on which they were elected.”

However, the names nominated by the party will no longer stand, both sides agreed, lawmakers who attended the meeting said.

Instead, each zonal caucus will conduct elections to decide the winners of the slots based on the zoning formula conveyed in the party’s letter.

The agreement broadened the chances of Gbajabiamila who later emerged the majority leader, a key demand that has been at the centre of the nearly two-month old crisis.

The adopted formula zoned House leader position to the South West; deputy House leader – North West; chief whip – North East; deputy House whip – South South.

The House crisis started after the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, emerged speaker in defiance of the APC leadership’s decision that anointed Gbajabiamila for the position.

The party later adjusted its demand and nominated Gbajabiamila as the majority leader, a proposal Dogara again rejected.

The speaker said Gbajabiamila’s South West region had produced the deputy speaker, Yusuf Lasun.

In his response, Dogara nominated members who supported Gbajabiamila as majority leader and chief whip, proposals rejected by Gbajabiamila, a former minority leader.