Reps: No Bickering On Impeachment Of Speaker — Spokesman Kalu

Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon Benjamin Kalu, on Thursday, debunked report on the planned impeachment of the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila by some aggrieved lawmakers.

Hon Kalu gave the clarification while responding to questions on the APC caucus meeting purportedly held on Tuesday night due to reported bickering on the impeachment of the Speaker.

“Where you mentioned that there was an APC meeting here yesterday or 2 days ago, I’m not aware of that meeting and I’m a member of APC and I’m also a member of NEC – National Executive Council of the party.

“I’m one of those representing the lawmakers from the South East, I’m also the spokesperson of this House and I speak both for APC and other parties, I’m not aware of the meeting that you referred to, neither I aware of what you described as bickering and agitation to impeach Mr Speaker.

“I’m hearing it for the first time from you, we have never heard that because Mr Speaker has lived above board in carrying out his duties with regards to our expectations as members of Parliament and all our targets is the calendar of the budget, sustain PIA is now a law instead or PIB, Electoral Act is being battled, to see the light od the day soon; constitutional review is going on and I can go in and on, this not a day of listing the achievements of this leadership.

“I’m not aware of this, so let us leave it there. There’s no bickering for the impeachment of Mr Speaker going on anywhere unless the pressmen want to start one through their pens and papers, it is up to them but they don’t have any voting power, we are the ones who will decide that. The pressmen should not decide for us who should be impeached and who should not be impeached, they should allow us to speak for ourselves,” he stressed.

While giving an update on the reworked Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which was sent to President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent, Hon Kalu said: “Our commitment to the electoral Act amendment bill is still as strong and solid as it was when we started and as you know we have fulfilled the obligation as mandated by the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.

“And as usual we have passed the ball to the court of the executive. So the bill has been transmitted to Mr President and it is before the executive as we speak, we are hopeful that soon it will be back with the assent of Mr President.

“The Ad-hoc Committee that has been busy with the constitution has been meeting seriously.

“As we speak we will be starting a retreat any moment from now. This is in line with our promise to Nigerians that the new Electoral Act, the next in our scale of preference remains the review of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We are walking the talk to do it is not going to be automatic but the right steps are being taken to ensure that at the end of the day Nigerians will have a reviewed, a renewed Constitution.”

While responding to the question on the abrupt adjournment of Thursday plenary due to the non-availability of Order Papers and Vote & Proceedings, however, observed that the Speaker had on Wednesday announced that plenary will start at 11 am to enable members to discuss some important issues.

The lawmaker, who expressed concern over the inefficiency in the system, underscored the need for all public and political office holders working for Nigeria using Nigerian taxpayers’ money should come early for the job they are paid to do.

He said: “on Wednesday, Mr Speaker notified members that the House will be commencing seating at 1.00 pm because there are serious issues that the House needed to handle today. Starting early was to allow the House to adjourn around 1.30 pm as against the usual time we normally adjourn.

“If the Speaker gave that prior notice yesterday, and arriving to discover that the administrative structure that needed to be in place were not being put in place, he has every right to express himself.

“You are looking at the Order Paper, both in soft and hard copies but we are looking beyond that. Constituting the plenary is what we called the Clerk at the Table. The Clerk at the Table were not seated before the Speaker walked in and that was very disrespectful, for the Presiding Officer to be seated waiting for the Clerk at the Table.

“Expressing himself is to send the right message out there that the delivery of the Parliament should not be hinged on the fault of the bureaucrats.

“The Speaker is saying that it should not be the order of the day that plenary should start late even when prior notice is given for us to start early.

“He is saying that the Bureaucrats should be seated and the plenary well-constituted before his arrival. Whether it is soft copy or hard copy of Order Paper is not the issue, but that the House was not properly constituted.

“We stand on a tripod of Senate, the House and the Management and under the management; you have the Clerk of the House who work with his team to take records of proceedings of the House.

“It is in the nature of the House that when pronouncements are made by the Presiding Officer, it is being properly documented and that is the responsibility of the Clerk at the Table. If they are not there, the House is not ready to commence plenary.

“It is all about efficiency and the drive towards effectiveness that those who work for Nigeria using Nigerian tax payers’ money should come early for the job they are paid to do.

“If there are tools that you need to do your job, press them early so that there will be a smooth running of the target set by the Parliament and meet those expectations by Nigerians.

“So, the Speaker has every right to say no to certain things happening in the House he presides over that he thinks are below the standard. If he saw a shift and complained about it, that does not mean he was angry. Even Jesus Christ flogged people in the tabernacle.

“The Speaker knows what is expected to run the plenary. If he walks into the House and did not see what is the standard expectation he has every right to complain. The time of the parliament is the time that taxpayers are paying for.

“The Speaker is seated and waiting for the civil servants to come. No, the House is not to be controlled by civil servants, but the presiding officer.

“We cannot wait for civil servants who are paid with taxpayers’ money. They should come and get the House ready for us to do our job.”

While reacting to the report that the Speaker entered into the chamber angrily, Hon Kalu said: “It was wrong for you to say that Mr Speaker came in angrily into the house, he did not come in angrily, and it must be cleared. If you know Mr Speaker you will know he’s not an angry person, he can’t be described like that but he has every right to say no to certain things happening.”