Gbajabiamila and the race for speakership

Looking at Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila marvelous score card as a legislator he is the one widely acknowledged as a politicians’ worth of his onion in the quest for making the nascent democratic system ticking. Gbajabiamila had sponsored the highest number of Bills in the National Assembly amongst all the legislators.  Amongst his Bills and Motions […]

Looking at Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila marvelous score card as a legislator he is the one widely acknowledged as a politicians’ worth of his onion in the quest for making the nascent democratic system ticking.

Gbajabiamila had sponsored the highest number of Bills in the National Assembly amongst all the legislators.  Amongst his Bills and Motions in the House, Gbajabiamila has been very passionate about the Employee Rights Bill, Local content in Construction Industry Bill, Vocational Schools Bill, The Economic Stimulus Bill, Interest-Free Students Loan and Establishment of Nigeria Education Bank Bill etc. Other bills to his watch are bill to criminalize the use of ‘estimated billing’ in the calculation of electricity consumed and to be paid for by consumers by Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies.

A bill seeks to amend the Electoral Act 2010 to empower election tribunals and courts to declare the deputy governorship candidates as winners in the event of death of the governorship aspirant. The bill also includes the use of card reader as part of the Electoral Act. Another bill to cover the vacuum in the event that a governorship candidate dies before the conclusion of elections. A Community Service Bill to decongest prisons is welcomed. the review became necessary to save the inmates that “are not criminals but petty offenders involved in misdemeanours like wandering, hawking or trading illegally on the streets”.  The bill aimed to allow low offenders to be given a milder punishment than imprisonment. Making them to do community services would be of more benefit to the society than imprisonment. More importantly, it would help decongest nation’s prisons yards, overcrowded with awaiting trial prisoners.

Always protecting the party interest, he played a pivotal role in protecting the interest of the APC, positioning it as a strong force, especially in the eight assemblies where the party suffered internal crisis that led to gales of defection.  While 37 members of the caucus dumped the party during plenary on July 2018, Gbajabiamila led the remaining members to reject the defection, while he hinted at taking “necessary steps” over the move which he described as illegal.

Last Sunday in Abuja House of Representatives majority leader Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, declared his intention in company of over 170 members-elect, having won a historic 5th term mandate to the House with 16 years’ experience this enable him understood the intricate workings of the legislature, a critical arm of government and I have come to understand the imperative of striking a delicate balance in the relationship between the Executive and Legislative arms of government if we are to make steady progress in nation building.

 

Hon. Hafizu Ibrahim Kawu, Abuja.