Finally, the Committee Chairmen, Deputies
After months of lobbying and argument, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, announced the chairmen and deputy chairmen of standing committees of the eighth House last week. The distribution caused some upsets, as Damilola Oyedele c
To the surprise – and disappointment – of many, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party was almost at par with the ruling All Progressives Congress in the headship of the committees. PDP got 46 out of the 96 committees announced, while APC got 48 positions
Aft er much anticipation, lobbying and suspense, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, announced the chairmen and deputies of 96 out of the 97 standing committees of the House on Thursday. There had been expectations that the Speaker would make the announcement on October 15, but he had instead announced the composition of 12 adhoc committees to act on resolutions of the House in the past months. This seemed to suggest that the Speaker was planning to put the announcement of the standing committees on hold for much longer.
But at the end of plenary on Thursday, he made the announcement, after which plenary adjourned.
The list has caused some upsets.
Parity
To the surprise – and disappointment – of many, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party was almost at par with the ruling All Progressives Congress in the headship of the committees. PDP got 46 out of the 96 committees announced, that is 48 per cent, while APC got 48 positions – or 50 per cent. The Social Democratic Party got one, and All Progressives Grand Alliance also got one.
In the last House, the then opposition APC had gotten only 16 chairmanship slots out of the 83 standing committees.
“In the last House, out of the 84 committees, the opposition, which was the APC then, chaired only 16, even with that we only got three key committees. This is unbelievable. He has given so much power to the opposition,” one APC lawmaker said regarding the distribution of the committee positions by Dogara.
Payback
PDP also clinched key committees. Handing over keys sectors, in what is called “juicy” committees, to members of the opposition party appears to lend credence to allegations that Dogara, in his bid for speakership, had promised some influential members the chairmanship of juicy committees. There have been allegations that it was such promise of strategic committee posts that swayed the lawmakers when they voted Dogara to defeat Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila in the race for House speak.
Dogara, from Bauchi State, was in the PDP before defecting, alongside others, to the APC before the last general elections. Several times, he has refuted allegations that he is planning to return to PDP and is, therefore, pandering to the interest of the minority party.
PDP members secured key sectors such as Petroleum Upstream (Hon. Victor Nwokolo- Delta), Petroleum Downstream (Hon. Akinlaja Joseph-Ondo), Aviation (Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha-Abia), Banking (Hon. Jones Onyeriri- Imo), Foreign Affairs (Hon. Nnnena Ukeje- Abia), and Power (Hon. Tobi Okechukwu- Enugu). Others are Environment (Hon. Obinna Chidoka-Anambra), Gas Resources (Hon. Agbedi Frederick-Bayelsa), Information Technology (Hon. Ogoshi Onawo-Nasarawa), and Labour (Hon. Ezenwa Francis-Imo).
Reservation
As expected, the composition of the standing committees did not go down well with several APC members who spoke with THISDAY on condition of anonymity.
One APC lawmaker said, “How can you hand over key sectors expected to drive the change agenda of the president to the opposition? Imagine giving petroleum, both upstream and downstream, to the PDP? Banking, works, foreign affairs, aviation, these are sectors you hand over to your own people.”
Another member from the ruling party stated that the Speaker may not realise the implication of his actions. “Is it because PDP seems to be in disarray, does he think the PDP is harmless? He would realise that the PDP is different from the APC when time for another election comes,” the lawmaker said.
Reward for Loyalty
Members, who were the main supporters of Dogara in the early stages of the House, during the struggle over principal positions, were also adequately rewarded. The most prominent member, Hon. Jibrin Abdulmumini, who was also spokesperson for the Speaker’s Consolidation Group, was made chairman of the Committee on Appropriation.
Among right-hand men of the Speaker who took important committees are Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (Aviation), Hon. Nnenna Elendu Ukeje (Foreign Affairs), Hon. Kingsley Chinda (Public Accounts), Hon. Muktar Aliyu (Defence), Hon. Tobi Okechukwu (Works) Hon. Herman Hembe (FCT), Hon. Babangida Ibrahim (Finance), and Hon. Zakari Mohammed (Basic Education and Services).
Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas heads the Committee on Media and Publicity, while Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki chairs the Committee on Navy.
At least seven members retained the chairmanship of the committees they headed in the seventh House. They are Onyejeocha, Ukeje, Hon. Sulaimon Aminu (Education), Hon. Jones Onyeriri (Banking and Currency), Hon. Shehu Shagari (Judiciary), Hon. Nicholas Mutu (Niger Delta Development Commission), who is heading the NDDC committee for the third time, and Hon. Mohammed Monguno (Agriculture).
More Upsets
Some lawmakers complained that the Speaker, despite assurances to the contrary, unilaterally picked the chairmen and ensured that most were his own loyalists. They accused the Speaker of failing to consult other principal officers.
There are also complaints that the chairmanship of key committees did not favour the South-west. The PDP in the South-west had been alleged to be lobbying to get the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee, which statutorily belongs to the opposition.
In Defence of Mr. Speaker
Some members of the House have, however, been defending the Speaker and debunking reports that he acted unilaterally.
A lawmaker who did not want to be named said, “There was a meeting on Thursday morning, which every principal officer attended. That was where they picked the chairmen. So it is untrue and unfair to say he did not consult others. The meeting lasted two hours, and it was the reason why plenary did not start until past 12. All principal officers, both in majority and minority were there.”
In his reaction, the chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, said the appointments followed the normal procedure of the House. He said they were done after wide consultation and in a way that is fair to all parties and sections of the country. Namdas disagreed with suggestions that the PDP seemed to have the upper hand in the appointments, saying APC has 54 deputy chairmen while PDP and others have 38.
Namdas, in a statement, listed the so-called juicy committees headed by APC members to include Appropriation, Telecommunications, Finance, Agriculture, Solid Minerals, Police Affairs, Interior, Customs and Excise. APC also has chairmanship positions of Tertiary Education, Basic Education, National Security and Intelligence, Defence, Sustainable Development Goals, Marine, Land Transport, Navy, Emergency Disaster Management, IDPs and North East Initiatives, Electoral Matters, FCT, House Services, Judiciary, Pensions, Rules and Business, Water Resources, Justice and many others, he said.
According to Namdas, “Again, APC members deputise in committees of Petroleum Upstream, Petroleum Downstream, NDDC, and many others. Similarly, to sustain a well cherished convention in the House, Committees of Petroleum Resources and Gas are traditionally reserved for the South-south, just like committees on Agriculture, Water Resources, etc are traditionally left for northern legislators.
“It is worthy of note that the leadership of the House runs an all-inclusive administration, with all Nigerians having a sense of belonging while not being unmindful of our party. This our disposition has reflected not only in the appointments of standing committee but also of ad hoc committees. This, we will continue to imbibe for the consolidation of the House for good governance.”