· Lawmakers refuse to play 'puppet' to Lagos governor
· Frown at his inclusion of Tinubu's brother and sister-in-law in list of cabinet nominees
There are greater storms in politics than can be ever found at sea. Piracy, mutiny, broadsides, subterfuge and blood on the deck—you will find them all in politics. These vagaries of chaos and ill will currently ravage the coastal city of Lagos even as you read. Following Lagos governor, Akinwumi Ambode's dispatch of his preferred list of commissioners and special advisers to the House of Assembly, a disconcerting calm has settled on Lagos.
A dark pall hovers above the city as the House of Assembly against the norm, set up a 15-man committee to screen Governor Ambode's nominees. Although a statement from the governor’s office said the governor was expected to swear in the new commissioners and special advisers on October 5, in anticipation that the nominees would have been screened immediately after the Sallah holidays, that was not the case.
Contrary to the governor's expectations, the House simply set up a 15-man ad-hoc committee to secretly screen the nominees and make recommendations to the general house. Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, immediately after setting up the committee, explained to shocked guests and newsmen at the gallery that the decision to set up the committee, which is not the norm, was jointly taken by the lawmakers during parliamentary meeting.
While the ad-hoc committee to screen the nominees is headed by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni, other members include Deputy Majority Leader, Olumuyiwa Jimoh, Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru, Deputy Chief Whip, Omotayo Oduntan, Minority Leader, Akeem Bello. Others are Victor Akande, Lanre Ogunyemi, Rotimi Olowo, Yinka Ogundimu, Mohammed Folajimi, Bisi Yusuf, Oladele Adekanye, Ibrahim Layode, Segun Olulade, and Dayo Fafunmi. Obasa said the committee would first screen the nominees before presenting its report to the House when it reconvenes on October 13.
The decision to schedule a two-stage screening process for the nominees, according to the Speaker, is supported by the House rules which permits the lawmakers to work at their convenience. However, The Capital findings revealed that the decision to subject Ambode's candidates to an arduous screening process was hardly borne of the lawmakers' need to be meticulous in assenting the employment of occupiers of sensitive public offices, rather, the Lagos Assembly has decided to rebel against the established norm in the state by which the House of Representatives serve as the sitting governor's puppet, rubber-stamping every decision he makes unquestioningly.
Lawmakers in the House revealed that the screening would not take place because they had scores to settle with the governor over his perceived overbearing attitude. The lawmaker do not appreciate the governor's bid to dictate the pace at which they should work.
On another note, speculations abound that certain names on Governor Ambode's list have raised eyebrows within the House; the fact that Deji Tinubu, sibling to former Lagos governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Lola Akande, sister to his wife, Remi, have been nominated for executive cabinet roles have been frowned at by the lawmakers.
Among other things, the legislators believe Lagos is not the Tinubus' private property hence Governor Ambode should have thought it over before nominating their family members for crucial roles in his cabinet. There are better qualified candidates all over the country and the globe to fulfill such roles, they claim.
Source - The CapitalNG
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