May 13, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, has warned against the consequences of having a rancorous National Assembly, as it will mar the relationship between the Legislative and Executive arms of government.
Shettima spoke on Friday, in Abuja, when he met with Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu, the endorsed Presiding Officers for the House of Representatives speaker position and deputy by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The meeting was at the instance of the Joint Task Group of the 10th House, comprising members of all the political parties with members-elect into the green chamber at the February 25th general election.
Addressing the lawmakers numbering over 100, Shetimma said it would not be good for them to go against the party’s position on the leadership of the 10th National Assembly.
“I will take it upon myself to reach out to the other contenders. Rt Hon Betara is my brother. We are from the same subregion, we are from the same state and I have the best relationship with him. I met him two nights ago, I will sustain that.
“Around 1 pm today, I met with Rt Wase, the deputy speaker. We will continue with the engagements so we can have a rancour-free Assembly.
“When Obasanjo lost grip of the National Assembly, his first tenure was a failure. President Buhari could do little in his first term because of the rancorous relationship between the executive and the legislature.
“What was accomplished in the last four years was because of the harmonious relationship between the executive and legislature.
“When President Goodluck Jonathan lost grip of the National Assembly when Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal emerged as the speaker, and that rancorous relationship culminated in his defeat in the 2015 general election. Mariam Onuoha is my friend, I will reach out to her”, Shettima said.
While justifying the choice of Akpabio for Senate President, the former Borno governor said: “What we are trying to avoid is a situation whereby the number one citizen, number two citizen, the number three citizen, the number four citizen, the number four citizen are all of the same faith. That will validate the negative narrative of the Islamisation of Nigeria.
“That is why my principal, a fair-minded individual, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insists the number three citizens must come from the South/south (Christian). The stability of the nation is more important than any other consideration. We are talking about inclusivity.”
He also advised Abass and Kalu that if they emerged presiding officers of the House they should carry other political parties along in the distribution of committee chairmen.
In his remarks, the endorsed speakership candidate, Abass, who expressed gratitude to the president-elect, Bola Tinubu and his deputy gave the assurance that under them there will be a harmonious legislative/executive relationship for the progress of the country.
“We are very grateful to you, the president-elect and the party for finding us worthy offor the leadership. I want to assure you that we will not disappoint the party. We will work harmoniously with the executive”, he said.
Speaking earlier, Kalu, the spokesperson of the House, thanked APC, Tinubu and Shetimma for rewarding South/East despite the party’s abysmal performance at the general election in the zone.
“It is with great joy that I stand before you to say thank you. To pledge our commitment to your administration, rancour-free, acrimony-free administration. It’s a pledge.
“In your magnanimity, you decided to show that cohesion was necessary for nation-building. But this time, irrespective of the votes that come from the South East, you considered cohesion and gave us a deputy speaker, we are grateful.
“Sir, here we have over 153 members some of whom are outside who are in support of the decision that the party has taken. Because this is the decision that will give every part of the nation a sense of belonging”, he said.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the joint task, Usman Kumo, said they were out to ensure that there is a rancour-free 10th Assembly for good governance to thrive by ensuring that the resolution of the ruling party is implemented.
“In the 10th Assembly, we will try to work harmoniously with the executive. In the two different instances of the 7th Assembly, in the 8th Assembly budgets were not implemented because they were attacked.
“So if you’re not in the good books of the executive, your budget, your constituency intervention capital projects cannot see the light of the day. But in the 9th Assembly, we are committed to working harmoniously with the executive”, he said.
