How arrogance and pride may cost Gbajabiamila House of Reps speakership
Femi Gbajabiamila, a House of Representatives member representing Surulere Federal Constituency 1, has once again made his intention of becoming the lower chamber’s speaker, but this dream is likely to be hampered by what many of his colleagues perceived as arrogance and pride.
A senior member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos was quoted to have said “Gbaja o niwa (Femi Gbajabiamila is not of qualitative personality). Pushing his candidacy through will be difficult. Even our people (Lagos Reps-elect) are not buying into the agenda. Everybody knows he can’t relate well, so how is this (his speakership agenda) going to be possible? Our people (Lagos Reps-elect) are already shifting loyalty to (Ahmed Idris) Wase, the fellow from Plateau (State).”
Another lawmaker said ” I’m worried about his pride, for a man who look down on his colleagues as ordinary floor member, he’s going to be worst as the speaker ”
The current Majority Leader, who is clearly Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s choice for the speakership, vied for the coveted seat in 2015, but lost to the incumbent Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.
Tinubu had been having a hard time selling the speakership candidature of Gbajabiamila to many Reps-elect from Lagos, who are expected to help in pulling their colleagues, both of APC and of other opposition parties, from the South-West, into the agenda.
Apparently aware of the poorly-guarded animosity towards the Gbaja agenda from many of the elected lawmakers from Lagos and the unfavourable feelers from the rest of the South-Western states, the unveiled threat of expulsion made by Tinubu on Friday, was said to be largely meant to douse the growing mutiny at home.
Speaking at an event on Friday, Tinubu vowed that elected parliamentarians from APC, who refused to vote those picked by the party for the Senate presidency and House of Representatives speakership, would be sent packing from the party.
The statement had generated a lot of negative reactions across political divides, with many describing it as unguarded, with the potential to hurt the Gbaja agenda.
It was learnt that in order to mask their preference, majority of the elected lawmakers from Lagos and South-West at large would likely join forces with lawmakers from other geo-political zones, who are also seeking to disobey the party’s position on the two seats, to demand secret balloting in electing the next speaker.
