The newly appointed Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abass, firmly asserts that the Green Chamber is committed to taking decisive action against the executive branch whenever its actions are contrary to the welfare of the Nigerian people.
Furthermore, he reassures that the 10th House of Representatives will not serve as a mere rubber stamp for the executive, emphasizing the importance of maintaining independence and accountability.
Abbas, who said this Tuesday while speaking to newsmen after a thank you visit to President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, said: “We will always separate our independence, and we will relate and be able to harmonize with the executive where necessary, but where there is a conflict of interest, where we feel that the executive is or wants to do something that is not in the interest of the public, they know that we’ll stand up against that.”
He further underscored that the broad acceptance demonstrated by the cross-party support during his recent election debunked the false narrative that the ruling party imposed on him, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In response to a query regarding concerns about the House being a mere rubber stamp, Abass highlighted the significant level of acceptance and endorsement from various political parties. He pointed out that members from various parties, including the PDP, SDP, ADC, and other minority parties, voted for their leadership, indicating a wide-ranging support base.
“So if they felt that we are going to be rubber stamps, do you think they will elect us? No. They believe that we will safeguard the sanctity of the National Assembly, the legislature.
Speaking on his election as Speaker, he said, “What I can tell you is that right from day one, when we started this campaign, it was always good, but the impact of social media propaganda of some of the contestants distorted the entire picture of what was on the ground.
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“To God be the glory; today, people have seen our level of popularity and acceptance by our members, and it has put to shame those who always thought that we were imposed by the party and that we don’t have the numbers.
“Today, people have seen that we have established a record that has never been established in the past; 353 out of 359 members electing us. It is unprecedented; it has never ever happened in the history of Parliament”, he said.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, in his remarks, expressed that the 10th House of Representatives is committed to fulfilling the pledges made by its members to their respective constituents. He emphasized the importance of collaborating with the executive in order to achieve these promises.
He said: “We promised during the time we went to all the constituencies in the Federal Republic, canvassing for votes, the promise that we’re going to ensure that nation-building remains a joint task that will not be left only for the executive, the judiciary to handle. We promised that we are going to be there to make sure we bring our own bricks to the nation-building work, and this extends to the creation of jobs, reduction of poverty, policies that go into enhancing our energy sources, policies that will help us create more local content used in this country.
“Manufacturing now helps us reduce importation and increase exportation that will stimulate our economy. And as you see in the past 15 days, Mr. President has been making the right decisions, you know, on issues. We want to sustain that through legislative support, legislative intervention to make sure that together, we build a nation we will be proud of”.
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