SaharaReporters has exclusively obtained a letter, dated October 20, from the House of Representatives Leader Femi Gbajabiamila to the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, exposing a rift between the two men in the decision making process of the House.
In the letter, Mr. Gbajabiamila complained that Mr. Dogara had failed to consult the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) regarding the appointment of chairmen and deputy chairmen of House Committees.
The House Leader noted that the two men met several times in the preceding four weeks regarding the composition of House Committees, but appeared to be worried that the Speaker had already made his appointments, without consulting with “principal officers” (apparently referring to the APC leadership and himself).
In the letter, Mr. Gbajabiamila pointed out that parliamentary traditions demand that he as House Leader be informed of any decisions regarding the House Committees, pleading that every “principal office in this House...be given its dues as enshrined in its House Rules.”
It is not entirely clear if Mr. Gbajabiamila and Mr. Dogara ever did resolve the issues surrounding the appointments. Two days after the letter was sent, Mr. Dogara announced the appointments of the chairmen and deputy chairmen of the House Committees.
Premium Times reported that several of Mr. Dogara’s political allies, particularly those who supported his campaign for the Speakership, received choice appointments, but also that Mr. Gbajabiamila and his allies similarly received top positions.
It would appear that the letter, in conjunction with Mr. Gbajabiamila’s previous overtures, may have convinced Speaker Dogara that he would need to placate the House Leader.