Lawmakers Reign Abuses On Obj For Calling them Rogues

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, on Wednesday stopped a move by lawmakers to protest former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s verbal attacks on members of the national and state houses of assembly.

The Senate also challenged Obasanjo to name the rogues and criminals among the lawmakers, saying   a lot of people had called for clarification on the former President’s comments.

Before Tambuwal’s intervention, fuming Reps had taken exception to the former President’s chastisement with the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr. Suleiman Kawu, already submitting that “Obasanjo lacked the moral authority to call lawmakers rogues and armed robbers.” 

The ex-President on Tuesday at the fourth Academy for Entrepreneurial Studies, Nigeria, annual national conference in Lagos, said most members of the legislature in the country are rogues and criminals.

Kawu had raised an order under matters of urgent public importance to table the ex-President’s attack on lawmakers on the floor.

Although Tambuwal initially obliged him, the Speaker quickly stopped Kawu when he started raining abuses on Obasanjo.

He accused Obasanjo of being without a good reputation and that such a man had no “moral authority to call lawmakers armed robbers, Mr. Speaker.”

But Tambuwal cut him short amid murmurs from members and promptly referred the issue to the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges for investigation.

The speaker reasoned that it would be hasty to respond to the allegations in anger as none of the lawmakers was present at the forum where the former President reportedly made the allegations.

Tambuwal noted that the House should avoid a situation where Obasanjo would deny having made the allegations or that he was quoted out of context.

He explained that an investigation by the committee would clarify any doubts on the matter, following which the House could debate it and take a position.

The committee was given up to next week to submit its report.

Also, while briefing journalists on the reaction of Senators to Obasanjo’s comments, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Information, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said Obasanjo should help the National Assembly by coming up with the names of those he believed were criminals.

He said, “We have been getting too many enquiries relating to the statement by former President of Nigeria that the National Assembly is full of rogues. Our statement is as follows: The National Assembly has great respect for the person of the former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and the National Assembly can never engage in any talk back with the President.

“We actually feel that the former President would help the National Assembly and indeed also help Nigeria in the new spirit of transparency and openness in assisting the National Assembly by naming those that he knows in the National Assembly as either rogues or criminals.

“That will help us to sanitise the polity. We sincerely thank him for his role in Nigeria as someone who cares very deeply about the Nigerian state as at the moment.

“Not just President Obasanjo, we also urge other Nigerians who are concerned about Nigeria to in the spirit of transparency let us know whatever information that they have so that we can use it to check ourselves so that we will be able to make Nigeria a better place.”

Abaribe however would not take questions after the briefing, saying that that was all he had to say about the issue.

Chief Whip of the House, Mr. Isiaka Bawa, said that lawmakers would not take further actions until the committee had turned in the report of its findings.

Bawa said, “As a leader of the House, once the House takes a stand on any issue like this, we can no longer talk on it. The matter came up on the floor and we resolved to investigate it thoroughly before making any reactions.

“For example, we have to hear from the former President whether he actually said what was attributed to him.

“He may say that he never said such or that what he meant was not accurately reported.”

When asked whether the investigation would involve inviting Obasanjo to the House, Bawa replied that it depended on the methodology the committee chose to apply.

The Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said he supported Tambuwal’s decision not to debate the matter on the floor because “it is not worth it.”

He said, “It is not worth debating if you asked me. Obasanjo is expressing his freedom of speech.

“So, if he calls you a rogue, armed robber or thief, you call him double rogue, double armed robber.

“Both of you would be seen to be exercising your freedom of speech.

“The other arm of it is that either of you may sue for defamation of character, the laws allows it.”

He said that he could not believe that Obasanjo, who he said allegedly spent $10bn to fund his “failed third term bid”, would call another person an armed robber.

“Part of his problem is that he will do or say anything just to be in the limelight.He should be ignored, honestly”, the lawmaker added.