Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila
The immediate past Speaker of the House of Representative and present Governor of Sokoto State, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, on Sunday disclosed that he, alongside seven other principal officers of the last Assembly, opted for Mr. Dogara over having Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila for the seat of the Speaker of the House.
This revelation probably may be viewed to be an act of betrayal by some as he (Tambuwal) also posited that he is a close ally of Mr. Gbajabiamila.
Yakubu Dogara and Femi Gbajabiamila had been engaged in a strong battle for the position of Speaker of the 8th Assembly, after which Yakubu emerged the winner in the face of the might of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Governor Tambuwal has spoken about his role in the emergence of Mr. Dogara when leaders of Sayawa Community of Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa Local Government Areas of Bauchi State paid him a visit to show appreciation to him for supporting their kinsman to become Speaker.
He further described Dogara as “competent hand” and deserves to lead the legislative.
“I have strong affinity with Hon Femi. He was closer to me than Dogara. But when talking about leadership and collective decisions, sentiments have to be put aside. I’m not here to tell you that my support made Dogara the Speaker, no. Two things made Dogara to become the Speaker, one is God and two, Dogara’s competence.
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“The acknowledgement of Dogara’s competence did not start with me. It started from the time of Hon Patricia and Etteh and Hon Dimeji Bankole when they entrusted him with a sensitive position of the Chairman of House Services Committee.
“The committee is one of the most sensitive in the legislature. Apart from taking care of the welfare of members, the committee oversees all procurement processes. As the Speaker, I only did what my predecessors did by giving Dogara this sensitive position.
“No person, as far as I know, has ever served as chairman of the House Services committee in two dispensations. Dogara broke that jinx. All through my tenure, I brought Dogara close to me because I found in him a person who is competent, accommodating, and with capacity to lead.”
In a phone conversation with members of the press, Femi Gbajabiamila has replied Governor Aminu Tambuwal over his admission that he worked in favour of his opponent, Yakubu Dogara, in the contest for the seat of the speaker.
“Alhaji Tambuwal has spoken… For me I have moved on and I can only wish him the best in his future undertakings. I guess Alhaji Tambuwal has finally spoken,” said Gbajabiamila.
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