Dogara is a fifth columnist – Gbajabiamila group

In from Timothy Enietan-Matthews (Nation’s capital) . . .

A group in the House of Representatives loyal to Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, Monday branded House Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, agent provocateur and a fifth columnist bent on destabilising the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The group made the accusation in Abuja, after about 40 of its members met with members of All Progressives Congress, APC, National Working Committee at the party’s secretariat.

In a statement signed by Rep. Musa Garba-Adar from Sokoto State the group said: “The composition of headships of committees must be seen for what it is: a declaration of war against the APC and the Presidency – all calculated at sabotaging the majority advantage that APC enjoys, with ultimate aim of rolling back the electoral victory of our party.

“The composition of chairmen and deputy chairmen of committees are clear manifestations of the marginalization of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

“Under the 7th Assembly headed by Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, the then majority party – PDP got 63 out of 89 committees of the House which constituted 71% share of the committees, while the Minority parties (ACN, ANPP, CPC and others) got only 26 out of the 89 committees which underscores the fact that the Minority got only 29% share of the committees.

“Unfortunately, under Speaker Yakubu Dogara the Majority party – APC got 50% share of committees, same with the PDP and other minority parties, which equally got 50%.

“No legislature in the world had ever shared committees on 50:50 basis between the majority and minority parties.

Read also: Gbajabiamila, loyalists boycott inauguration of committees

“There must be a clear cut margin between majority and minority parties as was done in previous assemblies,” the group said.

According to the group, giving strategic committees to the PDP was a ploy to sabotage the change agenda of the Buhari administration.

“It is therefore absolutely clear that Hon. Yakubu Dogara is, but a fifth columnist, an agent provocateur committed to destabilizing the house on behalf of the powerful forces that have ruined Nigeria and brought us to the current sorry past.”

The group therefore asked Mr. Dogara to reverse the composition of the headships of the committees.

The group also accused the Speaker of exhibiting tyranical attitudes in the handling of the affairs of the House.

“In the same vein, the speaker has continued to suppress critical and dissenting voices from contributing in debates at plenary sessions, while shamelessly promoting the dominance of activities of the house by hostile, opposition elements.

“In pursuit of his tyrannical agenda, the speaker has caused a motley crowd of his co-conspirators to amend the House Rules, to enable him suspend members at will and generally apply punitive measures to kill the well-known vibrancy that has historically characterized the House of Representatives.”

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now