A member of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, says the ninth National Assembly under the leadership of Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila has achieved more than others before it.
Addressing journalists after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abbas who is in the speakership race, said he would ensure independence of the legislature if elected in the coming days.
Reflecting on the achievements of the legislature, Abbas noted that the ninth assembly, which was perceived by many as “rubber-stamp” has best executive-legislature relationship in Nigeria’s history.
“The ninth assembly is by far and I say it with all sense of humility the best national assembly that the legislature and the executive had a very mutually beneficial relationship,” Abbas began.
“Whoever is talking about the rubber stamp national assembly does not know the workings of the National Assembly. Nobody, speaker or senate president, deputy speaker or senate president — nobody can manipulate the 360 members of the House of Representatives to make them do what is not in the best interest of the public,” he declared.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had nominated Abbas and Benjamin Kalu for the positions of speaker and deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively.
The Kaduna lawmaker noted that previous assemblies where the presiding officers were not nominated by the ruling party did not perform more than the ninth parliament.
Politics Nigeria recalls that Femi Gbajabiamila and Ahmad Lawan were the preferred candidates of the APC for the ninth National Assembly leadership positions.
