What do we call this again, this is a case of lobby and political mischief in the absence of the law.
After saying the day’s prayer at about 11.05am and delivering his welcome back speech to his
colleagues who just returned from recess, Tambuwal proceeded to read a communication from President Goodluck Jonathan on the transmission of the 2014-2016 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper, and followed that with the letter, asking for the visit by Baraje.The lawmakers were instantly split. The drama started with the shouts of ‘no,’ ‘no’ by members of the old PDP, as well as arguments to the effect that PDP is no longer the majority party in the House, implying that Tambuwal’s leadership was no longer tenable.
Leading the pack of the nPDP, as the Baraje PDP is called, was Rep Abdulmunin Jibrin, House
Committee Chairman on Finance representing Kano State and Rep Dakuku
Peterside of Rivers State.
"ROWDY REPS—Members of the House of Representatives during the brawl in the House, yesterday.
ROWDY REPS—Members of the House of Representatives during the brawl in the House, yesterday. to restore order by the Chief Whip, Rep Isiaka Bawa, failed as members of the old PDP and the new bloc turned the floor of the House into a
market place.
Committee Chairman on Finance representing Kano State and Rep Dakuku
Peterside of Rivers State.
"ROWDY REPS—Members of the House of Representatives during the brawl in the House, yesterday.
ROWDY REPS—Members of the House of Representatives during the brawl in the House, yesterday. to restore order by the Chief Whip, Rep Isiaka Bawa, failed as members of the old PDP and the new bloc turned the floor of the House into a
market place.
The Speaker had to repeatedly call the legislators
by their first names and their various positions before order could be
restored.
As soon as normalcy returned after the disruption that
lasted for almost 30 minutes , Tambuwal announced that he had also
earlier “received a communication from Chairman of our great party,
Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, on the same subject matter” asking for a meeting
with the PDP caucus, but that Tukur “withdrew his own letter early this
morning.
The Speaker however explained that he could not read
Tukur’s letter on the basis of the withdrawal. He said the issue was a
PDP affair and could not be debated on the floor of the House.
The Baraje team was billed to meet the PDP caucus in the House at 3.00pm.
Rep Kingsley Chinda rose through a motion on a matter of urgent
national importance and cautioned that what had just transpired on the
floor may send a wrong interpretation to Nigerians outside, and prayed
the House to pass a vote of confidence on its leadership under Tambuwal.
argued that whatever that was happening on the political scene outside
should not in any way affect the activities of the House. “We remain a
united House,” he stated, and advised members to ignore the imperious
publicity directed at creating disunity in the House.
”We all saw the welcome parade here this morning but the papers were all awash that the House was going to war. He noted that as a sign of the unity of the House let us pass a vote of confidence on this leadership.
Earlier while welcoming back members from the over two months annual recess,Tambuwal said he had no doubt “that we are returning more reinforced with constituency duties arising from the expectations of our constituents as well as the needs which we have become ceased of through our observations, interactions and experiences”.
He continued,
“We should therefore be now guided more than ever before given that, the condition of our rural dwellers has witnessed only marginal
improvements.
”Most of our people still can’t afford to live decently. They still can’t afford quality education for their children or good healthcare for their families. They still don’t have those basic needs of life – from clean water to adequate security and regular power supply that other nations take for granted. This means there remains a whole lot more to be done.
”With the greatest sense of modesty, I
wish once more to commend you all for the great work you have been doing
and the attendant sacrifices. I urge that we belt up for greater
sacrifices even when this may appear not to be appreciated in some
quarters. I am confident that gradually the people of Nigeria will get
to know the truth and it is only then that what we are doing will be
sufficiently appreciated.
”We have been able to come this far because of your sense of patriotism, mutual cooperation and cohesion. We must all continue to be attentive to the promptings of our conscience and the yearnings of our people. If we continue along this path, we are unlikely to go wrong. Make no mistake, I do not by this suggest that we are infallible, but if we have to make errors at all, they must be the ones that can pass the test of good conscience.
by their first names and their various positions before order could be
restored.
As soon as normalcy returned after the disruption that
lasted for almost 30 minutes , Tambuwal announced that he had also
earlier “received a communication from Chairman of our great party,
Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, on the same subject matter” asking for a meeting
with the PDP caucus, but that Tukur “withdrew his own letter early this
morning.
The Speaker however explained that he could not read
Tukur’s letter on the basis of the withdrawal. He said the issue was a
PDP affair and could not be debated on the floor of the House.
The Baraje team was billed to meet the PDP caucus in the House at 3.00pm.
Rep Kingsley Chinda rose through a motion on a matter of urgent
national importance and cautioned that what had just transpired on the
floor may send a wrong interpretation to Nigerians outside, and prayed
the House to pass a vote of confidence on its leadership under Tambuwal.
argued that whatever that was happening on the political scene outside
should not in any way affect the activities of the House. “We remain a
united House,” he stated, and advised members to ignore the imperious
publicity directed at creating disunity in the House.
”We all saw the welcome parade here this morning but the papers were all awash that the House was going to war. He noted that as a sign of the unity of the House let us pass a vote of confidence on this leadership.
Earlier while welcoming back members from the over two months annual recess,Tambuwal said he had no doubt “that we are returning more reinforced with constituency duties arising from the expectations of our constituents as well as the needs which we have become ceased of through our observations, interactions and experiences”.
He continued,
“We should therefore be now guided more than ever before given that, the condition of our rural dwellers has witnessed only marginal
improvements.
”Most of our people still can’t afford to live decently. They still can’t afford quality education for their children or good healthcare for their families. They still don’t have those basic needs of life – from clean water to adequate security and regular power supply that other nations take for granted. This means there remains a whole lot more to be done.
”With the greatest sense of modesty, I
wish once more to commend you all for the great work you have been doing
and the attendant sacrifices. I urge that we belt up for greater
sacrifices even when this may appear not to be appreciated in some
quarters. I am confident that gradually the people of Nigeria will get
to know the truth and it is only then that what we are doing will be
sufficiently appreciated.
”We have been able to come this far because of your sense of patriotism, mutual cooperation and cohesion. We must all continue to be attentive to the promptings of our conscience and the yearnings of our people. If we continue along this path, we are unlikely to go wrong. Make no mistake, I do not by this suggest that we are infallible, but if we have to make errors at all, they must be the ones that can pass the test of good conscience.
The Speaker further stated that “recently, the polity has witnessed sustained heat generated by both interparty and intraparty squabbles. not all together unexpected given the approach of 2015. What is
worrisome however is that these squabbles have further exposed the weaknesses of internal party democratic culture and interparty intolerance. order to sanitize the political space.
worrisome however is that these squabbles have further exposed the weaknesses of internal party democratic culture and interparty intolerance. order to sanitize the political space.
”In the face of these, I
must not fail to commend Honourable members for their general mature
comportment in reacting to the issues involved in the political face
off. This mature comportment has saved the situation from further
escalation.
must not fail to commend Honourable members for their general mature
comportment in reacting to the issues involved in the political face
off. This mature comportment has saved the situation from further
escalation.
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