Water Resources bill: Northern Reps caucus deny plan to impeach Gbajabiamila
The northern caucus in the House of Representatives has denied allegations of a plot to impeach the Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
This is sequel to a report of a grand plot by the northern caucus in the House of Representatives to impeach the speaker in the event he refused to support the passage of the controversial water resources bill into law which has again resurfaced on the floor of the house.
The bill which met stiff opposition and was later dropped in the 7th and 8th Assemblies was recently reintroduced in the 9th Assembly by the Chairman, House Committee on Water Resources, Hon. Sada Soli.
As expected there has been backlashes following the reintroduction of the bill from various quarters of the country requesting that the lawmakers again jettison the proposed piece of legislation.
At a press conference on Tuesday at the end of plenary, the chairman, Northern caucus, Hon. Sarkin Arda accompanied by the majority leader, Hon. Ado Doguwa, the minority leader, Hon. Ndidu Elumelu, the Chairman, Water Resources Committee, Hon. Sada Soli amongst other lawmakers descried the publication as untrue, a malicious lies to plant seed of discord and existed in the imagination of the news platform.
“It’s a day of mixed feelings. I don’t know how to describe it whether I will say sad. In my opinion, it’s a sad day. At a time we should be talking of how to unify this country to move forward together to provide good leadership in this country, we are being dragged down by agent of destruction and destabilization.
“Let me say clearly what has been published that members of the northern origin are plotting to impeach the speaker is malicious, lies aimed at planting a seed of discord amongst Nigerians. Anybody who follows the history lane in this country especially this 9th Assembly will know that Speaker Gbajabiamila enjoys the support of everyone of us including those that are not from the APC. From the beginning of his campaign, it was a joint task on nation building.
“If at this juncture somebody will insinuate that members of a particular region are plotting to impeach the speaker, that’s greatest disservice to this country and we should condemn it and shouldn’t allow it to go free.
“We call on the paper to retract that they have published and apologize to the national assembly, to the House of Representatives and to the members of the North. We feel aggrieved and betrayed.”
Sponsor of the Water Resources Bill and the Chairman House Committee on Water Resources described the writer of the said report as ignorant, uneducated and lazy.
He said: “I didn’t want to come here but I was compelled to come before you to talk about this bill otherwise I would have reserved my comments until when the house decides to bring the bill up for proper legislative process.
“Unfortunately it is an ignorant, uneducated, lazy journalist pounce on this bill and I can guarantee you all these reportage that is going on on our papers were based on ignorance. Even for the basis of not passing the bill as a law for this country please I urge all journalists to pick the bill and read it just for pleasure.
“I can guarantee you all this reportage going on our papers were based on ignorance even for the basis of not passing the bill as a law in this country, please, I urge all journalists to pick that bill and read it just for pleasure.
“The bill is not Sada Soli’s bill. I was not in the 8th Assembly. I was in the 6th assembly. There were 4 water resources legislations in the water sector. The national water resource act, Nigerian institute for water resources, Kaduna, Nigeria hydrological service agency and Roger basin development authority act. Those are the 4 acts that regulate the national water resources. And this bill added what we called WASH: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene components because this is the global trend on the water sector. This is not intended to generate any acrimony. It’s not Sada Soli’s bill. I only happened to be the chairman, Water Resources Committee and I found the bill on the committee”.
In his contribution, the minority leader of the House, Elumelu however said that energy should not be dissipated on the Impeachment publication but focus on how to assist the government to solve the issue of insecurity and get Nigerian students back to school.
“I don’t think I should waste my time defending what is out there about Impeachment but in a simple language, there is nothing like any threat to impeach Mr. Speaker.
“Secondly, the issue of a bill or no bill hasn’t even been dropped before us on the floor for consideration. Thirdly, it also not true that there is any attempt to put in any supplementary order paper for us to consider bill. Mine is to see how we can support government to confront insecurity. Of course, you are aware what happened yesterday in Abuja along Bwari law school, Abuja. Those are the things we should focus on. I want Nigerians to be assured that the House is doing everything possible to support government that pass legislations that will help to secure Nigeria, Abuja and get our children back to school”, he said.
Giving a tone of finality to the issue, the Leader of the House, Hon. Ado Doguwa described the publication as mischievous and baseless.
“We here as a united front in the face of the 9th House to tell the world that as far of the 9th House of Representatives is concerned, having drawn to the fact that some publication went viral insinuating that the House through the northern caucus is contemplating impeaching our able speaker, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, like my colleagues have said sufficiently, I also rise to say without any fear of contradiction that such publication was only malicious. It was baseless, mischievous and unfounded. This House in all ramifications has never had an instance where we contemplated impeaching out able speaker, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila”, he said.
Earlier, at the chamber during the plenary, the issue had first been raised by Chairman, Northern caucus and other lawmakers who took turns to condemn it, describing the publication as false.
