After participating in the Eid al-Adha prayer in Lagos, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives conveyed his belief that the burden of Nigeria’s challenges cannot be shouldered by a regular human being without the help of Almighty God.

Gbajabiamila expressed his conviction that God is supporting President Tinubu, enabling him to carry the weight of the nation.

While acknowledging that Nigeria is going through a difficult period, he remained optimistic about the country’s ability to overcome its present circumstances. He urged Nigerians to continually pray for Tinubu.

Acknowledging that divine blessings played a pivotal role in Tinubu’s electoral success, Gbajabiamila asserted that without God’s benevolence, Tinubu would not have attained his current position.

He referred to the election and its outcome, emphasizing that it was a testament to the divine favor bestowed upon Tinubu.

The development is coming following his appointment as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, a position he will assume on June 14.

Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who has spent 20 years in the lower chamber, was re-elected for the 6th term to represent his constituency.

He was to resume as a member of the next Assembly before his appointment by the President, and this would render his position in the 10th NASS vacant.

Speaking on his replacement, the spokesperson for Lagos APC, Seye Oladejo, stated that the ticket belonged to the party and a new candidate would be recommended by the constituency before a decision would be taken.

“The constituency will be involved and have their say as normal in politics. We will have somebody more than capable of stepping into the big shoe of Hon Femi Gbajabiamila who has been able to make a mark as he has also done during his time in the lower chamber.

“Basically, the ticket belongs to the party, and the party will carry out what is necessary,” Oladejo said.

Additionally, Tinubu appointed Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, a former Deputy Governor of Jigawa State, as the Deputy Chief of Staff.

This move aims to strengthen the administration and enhance its efficiency.

During a meeting with the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), the President also named George Akume, the former Governor of Benue State and immediate past Minister of Special Duties, as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

Akume’s experience and dedication to public service make him well-suited for this important role.

These appointments were officially announced in a statement issued by Abiodun Oladunjoye, the Director of Information, on Friday.

Lawan, in a statement issued on Monday by the Special Adviser (Media) to President of the Senate, Ola Awoniyi, expressed his grief over the death of media mogul and founder of the first private television and radio station in Nigeria, African Independent Television and RayPower FM, respectively.

Lawan, in the statement titled ‘Senate President Mourns Media Mogul Raymond Dokpesi,’ described the death as a great loss to the Nigerian polity and media industry “in the light of his immense contributions to politics and the evolution of private media in Nigeria and Africa.”

The Senate president noted that it was to the credit of Dokpesi that he established the first private television network in Nigeria, Africa’s first private satellite television and first privately-owned radio station in Nigeria.

He said, “I commiserate with the immediate family of Dr Raymond Dokpesi, staff of AIT/RayPower FM radio and the media industry at large on this great loss. They should all be consoled that Dr Dokpesi made his mark in business, politics and the media industry and lived a fulfilled life.”

Gbajabiamila equally described Dopkesi as a patriotic Nigerian who would be sorely missed.

In a separate statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Publicity House of Representatives, Lanre Lasisi, Gbajabiamila said he received the news of the death of media entrepreneur with rude shock, noting that Dokpesi has left a vacuum in the Nigerian media industry as the pioneer of private radio station in Nigeria.

The speaker, in the statement titled ‘Gbajabiamila Sad Over Dopkesi’s Death,’ recalled how the late businessman combined his media entrepreneurship with politics, which he said, provided the late owner of AIT/Raypower FM the opportunity to appreciate leadership in the country.

In the same vein, the Minority Caucus in the House said he was “shocked and grieve-stricken” by the news of Dokpesi’s death.

In a statement issued by the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, titled ‘Reps Minority Caucus Mourns Chief Raymond Dokpesi,’ the opposition lawmakers described the media mogul as “a highly resourceful, respected and accomplished entrepreneur, very brilliant, humble and insightful touch bearer; a remarkable philanthropist who remained steadfast towards the unity, stability and development of our nation and served as a source of inspiration to many especially the younger generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.”

The caucus partly said, “High Chief Dokpesi was a global citizen and his death is a huge loss to our dear nation and humanity at large. He will be greatly missed as his legacies will continue to live and impact lives for many more years to come.

“The Minority Caucus deeply commiserates with the Dokpesi family, the Daar Communication Group, the Government and people of Edo State and the Weppa-Wanno Kingdom at this moment of grief and prays to the Almighty God to grant us all the fortitude to bear this devastating loss and to the faithful departed, an eternal rest.”

Similarly, the DG of NILDS described the death of Dokpesi as a great loss to the nation.

Sulaiman, a former Minister of National Planning, made the remarks in a condolence message titled ‘Prof Sulaiman Describes Dokpesi’s Death as Great Loss to the Nation.’

Sulaiman said, “He was a prominent figure in the media industry, and his contributions have left a lasting impact. My heartfelt condolences to the Dokpesi family and the entire staff of AIT and Raypower FM.

“His departure is a significant loss for the entire media landscape. He was a pioneer and a visionary who consistently pushed the boundaries of journalism and entertainment. His unwavering dedication to excellence and innovation has undoubtedly shaped the media industry as we know it today.”

Gbajabiamila expressed disappointment over the fact that factors other than the effectiveness of Lawmakers were used to decide the results of the elections, which were the first in a series of elections leading up to the general elections of 2023.

The Speaker made this statement on Tuesday night when addressing the House of Representatives Press Corps.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, winner of the presidential election, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party and other 14 other contestants.

The LP candidate had, however, defeated Tinubu in his base, Lagos State, where Gbajabiamila also represents.

Gbajabiamila said, “It was a hard-won battle not just for me but for many of our colleagues on the floor (of the House) there…all 360 of us. Many were unlucky. Some were lucky. I used the word ‘lucky’ deliberately because this election was not as it should be; not so much about the performance of members whether on the floor or in their constituencies.

“It was about a lot of other things. It was about religion. It was about ethnicity. It was about so many other things which I hope that as we develop as a nation, one’s election would be based solely, or at least mostly, on his or her performance on the floor and in the constituency. That is why I fought tooth and nail to make sure the Electoral Act adopted strictly the direct mode for primaries because of elections.”

He added, “Even though at the general elections members lost, a lot of members actually lost their elections at the primaries where their acceptance by the constituents was not put to test. What was put to test was what one or two leaders in their constituencies determined, whether they were returning or not. So, we lost a lot of legislators even at the primaries level, and that does not help our democracy.”

The Speaker hinted that the National Assembly would further review the Electoral Act 2022, which is the amended version of the Electoral Act 2010 and is being applied to the 2023 general elections.

“So, hopefully, moving forward, we would perfect that document, the Electoral Act, which many people have celebrated but still not perfect yet. Hopefully, we would be able to perfect it,” he said.

Gbajabiamila in a statement on Thursday by his spokesperson Lanre Lasisi said the announcement of President Muhammadu Buhari that N200 should continue to be in circulation is faulty.

It would be recalled that President Buhari had earlier announced that the old N1,000 and N500 ceased to be legal, while the old N200 can continue to exist till April 10.

But the announcement by Buhari is contrary to the directive of the court that FG should suspend the deadline.

Gbajabiamila noted that it is not “to the benefit of our country for the Federal Government to act in ways that suggest a wanton disregard for the rule of law.” It would have been better if Federal Government strictly adhere to the court’s order pending the adjudication of the substantive suit, he stated.

The speaker further noted that “citizens and visitors are experiencing grave and unnecessary hardship across our country.”

Gbajabiamila stated that the Lawmakers would meet again on Tuesday to take action against Emefiele and other bank executives who fail to appear, as opposed to the House adjourning plenary until February 28 as originally scheduled for the elections.

The Speaker stated that he would not hesitate to request the Inspector-General of Police to effect the CBN governor’s arrest and forceful presence before the House, noting that Emefiele is a friend of his.

The House had formed an ad hoc committee to look into the issue of the new naira being scarce at commercial banks (also known as deposit money banks), which had raised concerns about the CBN’s deadline of January 31 for the replacement of the old notes with the new ones.

Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, the committee’s chairman, informed the House during Thursday’s plenary that the CBN leaders had not appeared before the committee on Wednesday. He mentioned that the committee has moved the meeting to Thursday at 1 PM.

Gbajabiamila did, however, also let the House know that the CBN had written to the Clerk to let them know that Emefiele wouldn’t be able to attend before the committee on Thursday

The Speaker said the House would exercise its powers as contained in Section 89 of the 1999 Constitution.

Gbajabiamila also noted that the CBN Act allows the admittance of an old naira note by banks, even after it had ceased to be legal tender.

The House had on Tuesday called on the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over the brewing crisis occasioned by the January 31 deadline.

Apart from asking the CBN to extend the window for swapping the old notes with the newly redesigned one by six months, the House had invited the banks to a meeting on Wednesday over the scarcity of new naira notes.

The Managing Directors/Chief Executive Officers of the banks, under the auspices of the Bankers’ Committee, were to meet with an ad hoc committee of the House to be chaired by the Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa.

The House had particularly resolved that the banks should be invited to explain the alleged supply shortage from the CBN, after which the lawmakers would invite the leadership of the apex bank for questioning.

The House “call on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the insistence of the CBN on the tight deadline for the implementation of the cashless policy and currency swap.”

The lawmakers also urged the CBN to extend the implementation of the cashless policy “to at least six months as well as review the daily withdrawal limit and the charges therefrom.”

The legislation is titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017.’

Already, members of the 9th House, including the Speaker, have been using ‘Rep.’ before their names, instead of the ‘Honourable’ or ‘Hon’ that has been in use for ages.

Gbajabiamila is now seeking to legalise the change in the “address and designation of a member” through the amendment bill.

The bill seeks to insert new Sections 21 and 22 into the Legislative Houses (Powers And Privileges) Act, which read, “(21) A member of the Senate shall be designated and addressed as a Senator and shall be entitled to have before his name the word ‘Senator’ during his term in office and for life.

“(22) A member of the House of Representative shall be designated and addressed as a ‘Representative’ and shall be entitled to have before his name the word ‘Representative’ during his term in office and for life.”

The Speaker wrote in the explanatory note, “This bill seeks to define the designation and address before the name of a member of the National Assembly.”

The speaker was criticized by the human rights attorney for contradicting the settlement struck with ASUU.

Falana revealed in a text message to The Punch that a Federal Executive Council member cut short Gbajabiamila’s efforts to resolve issues relating to the government and ASUU strike.

The speaker was accused of misleading the union by ASUU President Professor Emmanuel Osodeke. However, a number of legislators spoke up on Wednesday in support of the speaker.

Falana however said, “It is public knowledge that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila intervened in the last strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.  Several meetings were held with the relevant stakeholders by the leadership of the House. While briefing the Nigerian people on the resolution of the crisis on October 10, 2022, the Speaker did categorically state as follows:

“We agreed with ASUU and the government on certain things which we took to Mr President. I have visited the president twice. The first time we made our recommendations with the government shifting some and ASUU shifting some. We spoke with Mr President. There was one sticking issue which was the issue of no work no pay. And the President did ask that he would suggest the recommendations and would have one more meeting which we did on Friday after the budget.

“That meeting was even better than the first one we had with him, and Mr President had agreed to settle things. I am not going to talk about that now, and that he would disclose whatever it is tomorrow,  Tuesday which is tomorrow.”

And when the Federal Government turned around to renege on the vexed issue of “no work, no pay” the Speaker assured the lecturers on October 24, 2022, of his ability to resolve the issues in dispute.

According to Gbajabiamila, “The Executive position that it is not obligated to pay salaries to lecturers for the time spent on strike is premised on the law and the government’s legitimate interest in preventing moral hazard and discouraging disruptive industrial actions.

“Nonetheless, interventions have been made to explore the possibility of partial payments to the lecturers. We look forward to a favourable consideration by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR who has manifested his desire to what is prudent and necessary to resolve all outstanding issues.”

“From the information at my disposal, the intervention of the House Leadership in resolving the crisis was sabotaged by a member of the Federal Executive Council.

“Having been embarrassed by the circumstance, the Speaker should have apologised to the ASUU and the Nigerian people instead of denying the agreement reached with ASUU and President Buhari on the decision of the Federal Government to pay for the period covered by the strike. The Agreement was based on the commitment of the lecturers to ensure that the 2021/2022 academic session was not cancelled.”

The speaker never guaranteed the lecturers’ payment of arrears, according to a statement made by the House’s spokesperson, Ben Kalu, on Wednesday.

As was previously mentioned, the House’s involvement caused the lecturers’ eight-month strike to be called off.

The National Industrial Court had also ordered ASUU to terminate the strike. Additionally, the government pushed on its no-work, no-pay policy.

In an interview on Tuesday, Prof. Osodeke claimed that Gbajabiamila had broken the terms of the settlement made with the union.

In response to the claim, Kalu stated that the House of Representatives’ Speaker “never committed to offset the arrears of salary owed to union members for the time they were on strike.”

He said that the 2023 Appropriation Bill, which includes N170 billion to give an increase in the welfare package for university academics and an additional N300 billion in revitalization funds, reflects the House’s commitments.

Kalu, therefore, accused the ASUU President of “bad-faith approach to negotiations”, adding that “his affinity for political brinkmanship are significant reasons the universities were on strike for so long.”