Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila and those who supported him in the last contest for the position of Speaker of House of Representatives have accused Speaker Yakubu Dogara of planning to polarise the All Progressive Congress (APC) with a view to defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
They also condemned the Speaker for insisting on the application of the principle of Federal Character in the allocation of the positions of Principal officers,
Their words: “It should be noted that the Federal Character principle as embedded in chapter of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) IS NOT JUSTICIABLE AND OF NO LEGAL CONSEQUENCE. Its provision in S.14 of the Constitution is only applicable to appointments in Federal Ministries and Agencies. The House of Representatives is not an agency of the Federal Government and the principal officers positions are elective and not by appointment. If the Federal Character is applicable to the National Assembly, then both the Senate President and the Speaker cannot come from the North, one of them should be advised to step down.
They made the allegation at a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday evening at the Conference Hall of the First Lady’s Office inside the Presidential Villa. Also present at the meeting was Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The Gbajabiamila Group was represented by 30 APC members of the House of Representatives led by Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila’
According to the Group, in the June 9, elections in the House “174 APC members in the House faithfully and loyally followed the directives of the party to vote for Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and Hon Mongunu as Speaker and Deputy Speaker while 39 other APC members colluded with the opposition party, the PDP, to elect the current Speaker and Deputy Speaker with only eight votes superiority.
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