Gbajabiamila has enough experience to be next House of Reps Speaker – Egberongbe

Hon. Mufutatu Egberongbe, a former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly is a member-elect into the House of Representatives from Apapa Federal Constituency in Lagos State.

Egberongbe is worried that few days to the beginning of 9th National Assembly, the issues of the leadership of the Senate and the Federal House of Representatives is yet to be resolved.

For the Federal House of Representatives, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Speakership of the House who is also the current Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila is the best person to occupy the seat based on his experience and long service in the House.

Egberongbe believes that the party has chosen well and that Gbajabiamila’s experiences on the job have adequately prepared him for the tasks ahead. PATRICK OKOHUE met him.

How would you assess the 8th Lagos State House of Assembly?

There are evidence in more private member bills that were churned out in the assembly as against what used to happen in the past, when most of the bills were executive bills.

This shows that the members of the 8th Assembly are hardworking and are capable. The reason is not farfetched, they have been able to show that they have the love of the people at heart.

Town hall meetings are held by the members across the 40 constituencies and the details are compiled to form the budget of the state government for the succeeding year.

What do you think the 9th Assembly should do better?

Basically, the activities of the legislature is by convention. Why the assembly would be different is that the current Speaker is returning and most members are also returning.

This would definitely help the 8th Assembly. In the last assembly, we had eight members from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before they crossed to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

But the 9th Assembly is starting with everybody being members of the APC. They would have the same focus and ideas. This would give them more opportunities and things would be done quickly because they would all be on the same page as they are from the same political party.

Credit should go to the National Leader of our party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the state Chairman of our party, Alhaji Ibrahim Babatunde Balogun.

What would have taken us aback is if we have a new Governor and new assembly members. In this circumstance, the legislature which is the number one of the three arms of government, will have a lot of people coming back.

The Governor-Elect, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu has been part of the government since the time of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, when the latter was the governor of the state and Sanwoolu was the Managing Director of the LSDPC until recently. So, our government will work well better now.

I must add that the current Speaker of the Lagos Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa must be returned as Speaker because there is no time for experiment and this would make it better as the governor is coming for the first term. So, we need an experienced Speaker to work with him.

Would they not be rubber stamp legislators?

They would not be rubber stamp, they would be a cohesive and combat assembly. They would be able to run the affairs of the state well.

Parties are formed based on ideas, so it is better nobody is from the PDP, APGA or any other party with different manifestoes. They will all be working on the ideologies of the party.

You are going to the House of Representatives from Apapa, what should your constituency expect from you?

Like I said, legislature is the first arm of government. The duties of the legislature at the federal level are not different from those of the state. They have people at the back of their minds.

I was a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly for eight years from 2007 to 2015 and I was the Special Adviser to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly for four years, but I have since resigned my appointment.

I think I am in a better stead to do what the people want as a federal lawmaker. Some of those things that I would have done as a member of the State House of Assembly would be done better at the National Assembly.

There is a serious synergy between me and my constituents. I would copy what Senator Oluremi Tinubu is doing in Lagos Central by holding town hall meetings with my people regularly.

I might not be able to do it frequently as she does, but at least I should be able to do it once in a year.

The Speakership of the House of Representatives has been zoned to the South and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has signified interest for the position, do you think he has what it takes to manage the office?

Members of the National Assembly come from various political parties. Everybody came through a party and we are bound by the dictates of the party.

We came in through the APC and the party has spoken through the Chairman and the Leadership of the party. They said that the leadership of the House of Reps should be zoned to the South, and that it should be Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.

I have said it severally that it is not just about the position being zoned to the South or Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila being preferred, but the personality of Gbajabiamila himself should be considered.

Hon. Gbajabiamila is a very serious minded person, look at his contributions on the floor of the House, he is a very disciplined and versed person.

You can stay glued to your television, sometimes you hardly find up to 50 or 60 members on the floor of the House, but you would find Hon. Gbajabiamila there dishing out one section of the constitution or the other to support his claims on a particular bill.

He had been a Minority Leader and he later became the Majority Leader of the House.

It only behooves on us that having seen it from the Minority perspective and later the Majority perspective, he should be supported to become the Speaker of the House of Reps in the interest of the Nigerian people and the masses.

Legislative activities are allowed by convention. Gbajabiamila has been there on five occasions, so he has the necessary experience, he would then hit the ground running once the 9th National Assembly begins.

We have so many ranking members in the House of Reps, why should Gbajabiamila be the Speaker?

He has been a Minority Leader and later a Majority Leader and he is a core disciplined legislator. He even said it once that he would not run for the office if the position is not zoned to the South. That tells you that Hon. Gbajabiamila is selfless.

What measures have the party put in place to ensure that Gbajabiamila emerges the Speaker of the House of Reps because it might not be an easy task?

You once said that the position is zoned to Lagos State, it is beyond the issue of Lagos State. Gbajabiamila became the Minority and Majority Leader for the country and not for Lagos State alone.

The 164 newly elected members of the House of Reps have even embraced Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as the next Speaker of the House of Reps. We met in Abuja and adopted him as the next Speaker.

I am amazed by the kind of support he got from the North. For the first time, we are talking about integrity and meritocracy, so we are moving the country to the next level. Even the Presidency has said that Gbajabiamila is the way to go.

Would you say others are not as qualified as Gbajabiamila?

It is not that others are not qualified, what I am saying is that Femi Gbajabiamila has been tested and trusted, why do we need to experiment with others.

…What are those things you want to achieve in the House of Reps

Basically, our job is lawmaking for a better society. We will ensure that we churn out laws that would make the country better. We will uphold excellence and protect the rights of the people.

You will agree with me that there is separation of power amongst the three arms of government, yet the President of the country would have to make a proclamation before the National Assembly begins a session and the governor does that for the state houses of assembly too.

That would tell you that there is still checks and balances among them. We will ensure a special status for Lagos State. Lagos State is a mini-Nigeria.

You will agree with me that Lagos State is still the commercial capital of Nigeria. It is in the interest of all of us that Lagos State continues to thrive and excel so that the state can continue to move forward.

You are going to the House of Reps from Apapa, but the issues affecting Apapa like the movement of trailers from the ports have not been addressed, how do you hope to tackle this?

I agree that several people have tried to address the traffic issue in Apapa. The rail lines are already there, and we have been talking about using waterways to move goods to reduce the number of trailers on the roads.

I have talked about the issue of tank farms that should be taken away from Apapa. I said that the tank farms ought to be in Lekki Free Trade Zone.

We should ensure that tank farms are removed because of the people living in the area. By the time we have the rail line and the truck bay at Liverpool is put to use, the trailers on the roads would be reduced.

The tank farms are combustible and God forbid if explosion happens, a lot of lives would be lost. We will continue to advocate, and I would say this government has been trying its best.

The people of Apapa G.R.A have been trying to ensure that things are better in Apapa. We will continue to advocate until we achieve our aims.

The issue of the traffic on the highway would be addressed. Also, the issue of Environmental degradation in Gaskiya Area would be addressed. We would emphasise the Cabotage Law, which emphasises local content for the sake of the people of Apapa.

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I have said it severally that it is not just about the position being zoned to the South or Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila being preferred, but the personality of Gbajabiamila himself should be considered. Hon. Gbajabiamila is a very serious minded person, look at his contributions on the floor of the House, he is a very disciplined and versed person.

You can stay glued to your television, sometimes you hardly find up to 50 or 60 members on the floor of the House, but you would find Hon. Gbajabiamila there dishing out one section of the constitution or the other to support his claims on a particular bill.