From Jonas Ike, Abuja
The Majority Leader, House of Representatives Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has declared for the office of the Speaker of the House in the yet to be inaugurated 9th National Assembly.
The 9th National Assembly is expected to come on stream after the proclamation of the Assembly in early June 2019 by the Clerk to the National Assembly Alhaji Mohammed Ataba Sanni Omolori.
Gbajabiamila who recently won re-election in the House for a fifth term said he has been into the business of legislation in the past sixteen years having won election into the House to represent Surulere 1 Federal Constituency of Lagos State in 2003.
He further said that he studied and understood the intricate workings of the legislature. He said there is need including and the imperative of striking a delicate balance in the relationship between the executive and the legislative arms of government without compromising the latter’s independence.
The lawmaker who tagged his campaign ‘Nation Building, A joint Task’ said that that this onerous task can only be completed if we all come together I line with the legacies of our forbears and ensure that the labours of our heroes past is not in vain.
He added that he seeks the office of Speaker to bring tendencies together and unite the country. He noted that there is much work to be done by way of legislation in many areas of our life including but not limited to education, health, power, infrastructure and poverty alleviation.
He assured the lawmakers that the as Speaker he is going to be the a speaker elected to do their business and champion their cause and in doing so fulfilling their hopes and aspirations.
At the event lawmakers such as Hon.Tahir Monguno (Borno, APC), Hon. Kadijah Ibrahim (Yobe, APC), Hon Alhassan Doguwa (Kano, APC), Hon. Ifeanyi Momah (Anambra, APGA) Hon. Iduma Igariway (Ebonyi, PDP), Hon. Peter Akpatason (Edo, APC) among others called on the lawmaker to ensure that he works to strengthen the relationship between the three arms of government in Nigeria if elected speaker of the upcoming 9th Assembly.
Also speaking at the event, Director-General of Gbajabiamila Campaign Organization Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin (APC, Kano) said that that the candidacy of Gbajabiamila is not about himself rather is about sanitizing our democracy.
He added it is about bringing into effect international best practices into the nation’s democratic experience as is the the practice in other advanced nations of the world notably United States of America, Britain and other nations.
