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| (APC), Adams Oshiomhole |
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
Adams Oshiomhole on Monday spoke on the emergence of next Senate President and
Speaker of the House of Representatives. The current office holders are Bukola Saraki and Yakubu
Dogara.
Addressing newly elected members of the House of
Representatives at the Shehu Yar’adua Centre in Abuja, Oshiomhole said the APC
was not prepared to share offices of principal officers of the House and
headship of critical committees with the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) except for position reserved for minority members.
He said: “The first is the challenge of ensuring that this
time around we ensure that we have a leadership of the National Assembly that
shares the vision of the executive. Although we speak to separation of power
but there is only one government and unless the various arms pursue the same
agenda it is difficult for the executive to realise it purpose because
legislative backing is often required for the executive actions.
“So I will expect that you bear in mind that we are one
family joined together as shown in our broom, with a share commitment to bail
Nigeria out of the condition in which we find it in 2015.
“And that you have the numbers and we will use those numbers
to ensure that we have a leadership that command the trust and the respect of
all the members of the House of Representatives. There will be contestation,
that is why we are in democracy but after the contestation and debate we have
to agree, and once you have agree you move forward.
“We have the numbers to produce the Speaker and we will
produce the Speaker, who must be a member of the APC. We have the numbers to
produce the Deputy Speaker and we will use the numbers to produce the Deputy
Speaker, who must be a member of the APC. We have the number and we must use
the numbers to elect a House Leader who must be a member of APC.
“We have the numbers and we will use the numbers to produce
a Chief Whip and a Deputy Whip who must be members of the APC. I think the only
position that we are not interested in is the Minority Leader. Let it remain
minor in the hands of the minors in the opposition.
“We will not share power in the House of the Representatives
and the leadership must ensure that critical committees that drive government
are chaired only by APC members. If the Nigeria people wanted to be chairmen of
committees they would have voted for them.
“So all the chairmen of committees, except one that is
statutory reserve for opposition, which is Public Account, they can have that.
So, we would not do the kind of thing that happened the last time in which some
APC members as members of the leading party became distance spectators in the
management of committees, when PDP had majority of the strategic committees in
the House that will not happen in the next Assembly.
“We are aware that they believe they can use the divide and
rule by sponsoring many people within our ranks to contest for which of the
position so that they then become the king maker and in return the person will
offer them some chairmanship seats.
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“Hon members and comrades I’m sure are not going to do
business with them. We will see them as partners in progress but in democracy
the rule is, and it is a universal rule, majority must have their way but
minority must be allowed to have their say.
“So PDP and other minority can have their say but working
together APC must have it way in legislative agenda, in the leadership of the
National Assembly and the leadership of the committees in the National
Assembly. I thought we should make this thing clear so that those who may not
understand what is happening don’t fall into the trap.
“Somebody told me the opposition party people are already
doing something, raising money to bribe people and I said no we are
anti-corruption, we cannot be corrupted.
“If they bring One Billion Naira to each member, PDP person
will not be Speaker, a PDP person will not be Deputy Speaker, a PDP person will
not be Whip, a PDP person will not be Leader and a PDP person will not take any
of the Committee that are meant for the ruling party. We are determining to
achieve that and be rest assured that the party will stand by you.”
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