The Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Sunday said that a court process
instituted by 30 All Progressives Congress members stopped him from
acting on a letter from the party’s leadership, nominating four
principal officers for the lower chambers of the National Assembly.
He also said that reliance on
conventional wisdom alone would not solve the nation’s problems, noting
that the country would likely achieve limited success without prayers.
Dogara specifically urged Nigerians to
pray for the success of President Muhammadu Buhari and other persons in
leadership positions in the country.
A
statement issued in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public
Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, quoted the Speaker as making the calls
during a church service held at the Living Faith Church, Durumi, in the
Federal Capital Territory.
In his very first reaction to the
results of the election in which he defeated former Minority Leader, Mr.
Femi Gbajabiamila, by eight votes, he admitted that it was a “miracle”
that he won.
He had said that looking at the
formidable forces against him before the election, it came as a surprise
to him that he emerged victorious.
Dogara had polled 182 votes to defeat Gbajabiamila, who scored 174.
At a separate meeting with former
members of the House, Dogara said he assumed full responsibility for the
fracas which broke out on the floor of the House of Representatives on
Thursday last week.
However, he explained that a court
process instituted by 30 APC members stopped him from acting on a letter
from the party’s leadership, nominating four principal officers.
Enraged APC lawmakers punched one
another, tearing clothes and throwing chairs as they fought over the
sharing of principal offices in the House.
The leadership of the APC had written
Dogara and recommended names to him to announce as Majority Leader,
Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila; Deputy Leader, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; Chief
Whip, Mr. Mohammed Monguno; and Deputy Whip, Mr. Pally Iriase.
But addressing the former lawmakers,
Dogara said he could not toe the party’s line because the names did not
reflect geographical balancing among the six zones in the country.
He also told the former members that
some aggrieved members from the North-Central geo-political zone had
already filed a litigation in court on the grounds that the appointments
did not reflect the principle of Federal Character enshrined in the
1999 Constitution (as amended).
Dogara added, “Assuming they win the
case and the court now rules that that directive of the party breaches
the provision of the constitution relating to the federal character.
“So, do we now begin to see somebody vacating his office or principal position so that we can accommodate the court’s ruling?”
According to him, this was his reason
for calling for an executive session on Thursday so that all the members
could sit in camera to examine the issue.
However, he expressed regrets that his colleagues misread his intention, resulting in the fracas.
“That was why I had to call on the
Chairman, Ad Hoc Committee on Media, (Mr. Sani Zoro), to apologise to
Nigerians. I have accepted responsibility for everything that transpired
and we apologise to the nation,” he stated.
Speaking on how to resolve the nation’s
problems, Dogara said, “I want to plead that the problems we have in the
country now are not conventional and so conventional wisdom cannot
solve them. We need divine wisdom.”
On Buhari and other leaders, the Dogara said, “Without prayers, there is no way we can succeed.
“So, I urge that we offer prayers and
supplication for all the leaders, beginning from the President to the
least person in authority.”
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