An intense confrontation unfolded during yesterday’s plenary session at the House of Representatives as Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila and Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase found themselves embroiled in an unusual spat.
The contentious issue at hand was the early adjournment of Thursday’s plenary session to allow the speaker and other members to attend the commissioning ceremony of the permanent site of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) in Abuja along the airport road.
Before adjourning the session, Gbajabiamila expressed his desire for a lighter Order Paper on Thursday, citing the commissioning program scheduled for 3 pm, which would be attended by President Muhammadu Buhari.
To ensure a streamlined agenda, he instructed Hassan Fulata, the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, to avoid heavy activities on the Order Paper.
In response, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Wase voiced his opinion that the House’s primary function was lawmaking and argued that the commissioning of the NILDS headquarters was not a sufficient reason to adjourn the House early at 2 pm.
The speaker retorted, stating, “Deputy Speaker, maybe the importance of NILDS is not clear to you like it is to some of us. We are not adjourning the House for members to attend the commissioning. I said the order paper should be made lighter because I will attend the commissioning.” Wase countered, emphasizing that the House was a collective entity, proclaiming, “Mr. Speaker, the House is not about I, but us.”
Initially ignoring his deputy, Gbajabiamila proceeded with other announcements before eventually addressing Wase. He remarked, “Deputy Speaker, I have been in this House long enough to know that this is the first time in the history of this House that a deputy speaker will openly oppose what the speaker says.” Turning to the Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Business, Gbajabiamila instructed him to lighten the Order Paper for the following day and announced, “This House will adjourn at 2.00 pm,” prompting members present to shout in agreement.
While the surface issue appeared to revolve around the adjournment, the underlying tension among members suggested that Gbajabiamila’s endorsement of Tajudeen Abbas, the APC’s candidate for the speakership in the upcoming 10th House, may have been a significant factor. It should be noted that Wase had also declared his intention to run for the same office, potentially creating a divide between the speaker and his deputy.