.jpg)
Facts have emerged on why crises that usually characterise leadership of House of Representatives have not reared its heads proportionally during the current Seventh Assembly headed by Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as the Speaker, House of Representatives.
Two of Tambuwal’s predecessors, Olubunmi Etteh and Dimeji Bankole, had tough time managing the House of Representatives during their tenure, as members of the parliament came up with one reason or the other to call for their heads at different times, creating tension in the parliament and projecting the parliament in bad light to the public.
While Etteh, the first female Speaker of the parliament eventually lost the seat due to pressures from her traducers, Bankole, who managed to weather the storm till the end of his tenure, had tough time years after leaving the office.
He was going before the court to clear his name over allegations of financial impropriety, the foundation of which was laid by some of his colleagues who accused him of graft while in office.
Against all expectations, Tambuwal, unlike the last two Speakers of the House of Representatives, has spent three years in office already and has enjoyed a relatively peaceful reign even when the animosity generated by his emergence as Speaker of the lower arm of the federal parliament, has refused to abate.
The Sokoto State (North West geo-political zone) born lawmaker emerged as Speaker against the interest of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which in execution of its zoning formula, allocated the seat to the South West, as its share of National Office.
However, following a palace coup cleverly executed by some PDP members in connivance with members of opposition parties, Tambuwal, a PDP member, went against the zoning formula of the party, contested the seat of the Speaker and defeated the PDP anointed candidate, Mulikat Akande Adeola.
Since his emergence as Speaker, the relationship between Tambuwal and the PDP leadership has been frosty, with the party leadership and the Presidency tagging him a member of the opposition and treating him, both in secret and public, as an opposition party member.
Checks by Sunday Independent revealed that every efforts made by the PDP leadership to create problems for Tambuwal’s headship of the lower parliament were unsuccessful because of the trust he has been able to build for his office and person, among the parliamentarians.
A parliamentarian and PDP member, speaking under condition anonymity, confirmed to Sunday Independentthat pressures were made on some of them to cause crisis for the House leadership, with a view to getting the leadership thrown out, but that members resisted the pressures because of the unwavering trust they have in those elected to lead them, under the watch of Tambuwal.
According to the legislator, who is from the South South geopolitical zone, there were few members who were seen to be playing the game as dictated by “enemies from outside the chamber”, but they were quickly put in check by the rest members, who stood their ground against such moves.
Giving an example of a situation that could have led to a major crisis in the House, the source said “there was a time one of our colleagues, a chairman of a grade A committee for that matter, was discovered to be playing the cards of the enemies, who wanted to destabilise the parliament, but we quickly frustrated his efforts.
“Let me give you a peek into what happened. A text message with mischievous content was circulated by the member to some persons, who he thought, could be trusted, accusing the leadership of the House of graft, and inciting the members to revolt against the Speaker.
“Before the evil machination could be concretised, the real truth was laid bare by the leadership to all members at an executive session called for that purpose, and the fellow saw the futility of his folly.
“Aside from the apology offered by the member, no punitive measure was taken against him by the Speaker.
“Ordinarily, the fellow should have been paid back in his coin by being removed from office as chairman of the committee he’s heading but the Speaker left him there even up till now.
“That’s the level of maturity Tambuwal has brought into leadership of this current parliament. So, if you think such a man will easily fall prey to machinations to destabilise his government, I will say you are making a mistake”, the source said.
Another member of the parliament, speaking in confidence with Sunday Independent, disclosed that the ingenuity of the leadership of the House comprising all the Principal Officers has been a major factor in the sustenance of peace within the parliament even when divisive issues cropped up in the House.
“Have you not wondered why there has not been any crisis in the last three years over the refusal of the Speaker to rejig committee leadership?
“Has it ever happened in House that a major shakeup not will be done to committee leadership for three years and still counting and no one is raising an eyebrow?
“Look at the unsavory situation caused by the decamping of some PDP members to the APC and the crisis generated by the move by APC to take the seat of majority party by moving for the removal of Majority House Leaders; check the methodology adopted by the Speaker in dousing the tension created then, and you will understand why the unity of this parliament has subsisted”, the member said.
Tambuwal himself few days ago gave an insight into the success of his administration when he openly disclosed that the House is not running as a secret cult.
He explained last Tuesday that his administration is not shrouded in any secrecy, adding that even members of the public, or anybody for that matter, seeking information on any subject of public interest, will be given unfettered access to documents and information.
The Speaker added that the House was ‘transparent’ in its affairs, saying that it was open to scrutiny by members of the public.
“We are not running a secret cult in the House; we are very transparent. Approach us for any information and we shall make it available. The legislature is receiving a lot of bashing from the public, but we have our limitations.
“I urge the public to appreciate our constraints. Some believe that we are just an appendage of the Executive, but that is not the case. Without the legislature, you cannot have a democratic government.”
Even so, the Speaker is said to be weighing options on the next move for his political career.
While some are saying that he is interested in the Presidency, others are of the view that Tambuwal may go for the governorship of Sokoto State under the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Efforts to get his Senior Adviser on Media, Imam Imam, proved abortive, but sources said the Speaker is likely to make a decision very soon on his role in post 2015 era.
Source: Daily Independent
