A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu has said that Senator Ahmad Lawan and Rep Femi Gbajabiamila should be elected as the President of Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively as both legislators are suitably qualified to occupy the positions.
Okechukwu said this when he briefed newsmen at Nkerifi, Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State during the wedding ceremony of the Administrative Secretary of Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) and Zikist Buharist Movement (ZBM), Tochi Eze.
He was reacting to the current furore about who should occupy the two offices at the national assembly.
The VON DG said: “My honest opinion is let Lawan and Gbaja be. Without prejudice to the zoning convention, Distinguished Senator Ahmed Lawan and Honorable Femi Gbajabiamila have paid their dues in the progressive camp. They have been consistent, steadfast and had persevered in the struggle which made our victory possible. They’re our arrowhead in the National Assembly. I’m a witness.”
On the complaint of senators like Ali Ndume that the method adopted by the APC national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, lacked finesse and is less than democratic, Okechukwu said: “May I use this golden opportunity to appeal to my dear friend Distinguished Senator Ali Ndume, my big brother Senator Orji Uzo Kalu and indeed Distinguished Senators and Honorable Members of all the political parties to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his last leg, by allowing his proposal as per the leadership of the National Assembly to stand.
“Please leave Comrade Chair’s political correctness out of the equation, for in the fullness of time the regime will be remembered as Buhari’s regime, not Oshiomhole’s regime.”
Asked if he would support a rubber-stamp National Assembly, Okechukwu replied in the negative as he retorted: “Any day any time, one is an avid supporter of robust legislature, that’s why I support the independence of State Houses of Assembly. Luckily, Buhari has placed independence of State Assembly on the front burner.
“All one is saying is that with mounting gross unemployment, broken infrastructure and high despondency in the land, President Buhari needs all hands on deck to consolidate the development of critical infrastructure he had embarked upon.
“He needs seamless legislation to advance the 5,000 kilometers of federal roads, 5,000 kilometers of Standard Gauge Rail lines and additional 5,000 megawatts of electricity. The sage says once beaten twice shy, he was stung in his first term.”
Asked further on the position of the South East zone in the current allocations in the National Assembly, the VON boss explained that already President Buhari had during his post electoral victory speech, insisted that he would run an inclusive administration, hence he should be taken for his words as he would include all the zones in his government.
He said: “With my over decade association with Mr President, one sincerely believes that when he said many times in his post electoral victory that he will run an inclusive government that he means it. He doesn’t take prisoners nor play to the gallery.
“At any rate, outside critical infrastructure like Eastern Corridor Railways, 2nd Niger Bridge, Enugu Coal, Eastern gas pipeline, agrarian revolution and similar projects nationwide which cordial bi-partisan National Assembly will engender, motivate and guarantee; there are other strategic offices outside the chambers of the National Assembly to compensate such geopolitical zones.”
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