From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Tension heightened in the House of Representatives, yesterday, as Speaker, Femi Gbjabimiala, and his deputy, Idris Wase, openly clashed over the order paper for today’s plenary.
Gbajabiamila, who presided over plenary shortly before the House adjourned, had asked the chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business to make the Order Paper for today’s plenary light, so that the House can adjourn early.
He said this is to enable members attend the official commissioning of the permanent site of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) headquarters, later in the day.
However, the deputy speaker, who raised a Point of Order, said the primary function of the parliament was lawmaking. He added that the commissioning of NILDS headquarters was not enough reason to adjourn the House.
According to him, members interested in participating in the commissioning could do so without the business of the House been affected.
According to him, “Mr. Speaker, I am beginning to see this getting so funny and we have lost quite a number of period of time. For the commissioning of projects for God’s sake, why do we have to shelve a lot of activities that we have just to go and witness the commissioning of a project of NILDS? I want to beg sir, that we should do our functions.
“Those who have the interest to go, have the right to. But our main primary function is this parliament.”
Nevertheless, Gbajabiamila said: “Deputy speaker, maybe the importance of NILDS is not clear to you like, it is to some of us. We are not adjourning the House for members to attend the commissioning. I said the order paper should be made lighter because I will attend the commissioning.”
Wase retorted: “Mr. Speaker, the House is not about ‘I’, but us”.
But Gbajabiamila will not let Wase have the last word. He said: “Mr. Deputy Speaker, this is the first time in history. I have been in this House for many years, perhaps even longer than anybody here. This is the first time in history that a deputy speaker will be challenging what the speaker is saying.”
Wase fired back: “I don’t understand what you mean by challenging, sir.”
Thereafter, the speaker, turning to chairman, Rules and Business, said: “Let me repeat, please. chairman, Business and Rules, please make the order paper very light. We are adjourning this House by 2pm tomorrow.”
Relationship between the speaker and Wase has been frosty since Gbajabiamila declared support for Chairman, House Committee on Land Transport, Tajudeen Abass, as his preferred candidate for the speakership of the House in the 10th Assembly.
Abass is the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the speakership position.
However, the deputy speaker, who is also eyeing the speakership position, as well as other aspirants opposed to Abass endorsement have vowed that the latter’s endorsement, which they say amounts to eroding the independence of the legislature, will not stand.