31st December, 2014
Eromosele Ebhomele
With the easing out of some members of the Lagos State House of Assembly through the recent primary elections of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, as well as the choice of running mate for the party’s governorship candidate in the state, the political calculations concerning who becomes the Speaker of the House when the eighth Assembly commences next year may have changed.
The calculation is further pegged on which party takes majority seats in the House at the conclusion of elections to be conducted in February 2015 by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. This is because the major opposition party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party, has also produced candidates for the House.
To create a balance in the governance of the country, the APC had allegedly zoned the governorship candidacy to Lagos East and this was won by Akinwunmi Ambode, a former Accountant-General for Lagos State, at the primaries conducted in the first week of December. Ambode also has Mrs. Oluranti Adebule. Secretary to the Lagos State Government, as his running mate. The current governor of the state, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, is from Lagos Central.
Earlier, the party had elected candidates for the House of Assembly election and shockingly, some senior and ranking members of the House lost the election.
Prior to the primary election, some of the members of the House had began jostling for the seat of the Speaker since the current Speaker of the House, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, would be leaving the seat at the expiration of the seventh Assembly in June 2015. By then, Ikuforiji would have spent 10 years as Speaker of the House.
The Speaker had in a recent meeting with correspondents of the House, declared that it was time to move on after spending time in the House and earning himself a reputation as one of the best the House had produced since 1999.
Some of the lawmakers who were reportedly interested in the position ahead of the election include the Deputy Speaker, Taiwo Kolawole; the Leader of the House, Dr. Ajibayo Adeyeye; the Chief Whip of the House, Abdulrazak Balogun; the Deputy Chief Whip of the House, Rotimi Abiru; the Chairman, House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget, Mudashiru Obasa; the House Chairman for the Committee on Health, Suru Avoseh; and former Deputy Speaker and most experienced female lawmaker in the House, Princess Adefunmilayo Tejuoso, Mushin.
But with the primary election Ajibayo Adeyeye, Abdulrazak Balogun and Suru Avoseh, lost the ambition as they lost their bid to return to the House. Currently, while the other listed lawmakers are still interested in becoming the Speaker, P.M.NEWS Assembly Matters can report that there are new entrants in the race.
One of these new entrants is former chairman of the Lagos Island Local Government Council, Wasiu Eshilokun. Though members including Gbolahan Yishawu, Sanai Agunbiade and Moshood Oshun have not declared interest, some analysts within the House see them as eminently qualified for the position.
Ikuforiji became the Speaker in 2005 after spending two years at the House as member and chairman, House Committee on the Environment and following the impeachment of his predecessor, Jokotola Pelumi. He was the last since 1999 to become the Speaker of the House before the rule for qualification to the seat was changed.
It is now against the rule for a first-term lawmaker to become Speaker of the House as the rule states that a person for such position must be an experienced and high ranking member. And if that is the consideration, then all the listed members, except the already defeated ones, are qualified.
For example, Taiwo Kolawole, the Deputy Speaker of the House, would be serving a sixth term if he returns to the House in 2015. The current Deputy Speaker was the Majority Leader of the House in the sixth Assembly. This is in addition to serving in other committees of the House, thus making him one of the most experienced lawmakers. Kolawole is from Lagos West.
Rotimi Abiru and Mudashiru Obasa also fall into the category of experienced lawmakers. While Abiru is the current Deputy Whip of the House and has never rejected the idea of becoming the Speaker someday, Obasa heads the House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget and has also shown interest according to those who know. Months ago, posters demanding that Agege where he represents is ripe for the Speakership position flooded some parts of his constituency. Obasa, however, denied involvement in the agitation, arguing that becoming the Speaker goes beyond posters to include several other calculations and considerations.
Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, the House Committee Chairman on Finance, is considered the most experienced among the female members of the House. The lawyer was once the Deputy Speaker of the House. Apart from being a top ranking member, she remains one of the most vocal members of the House. The major challenge for her is that she is from Lagos West, just like Ambode’s running mate.
Being the chairman, House Committee on Judiciary and Public Petitions, Sanai Agunbiade, has become one of the most important lawmakers of the House, a rallying point as some of his colleagues would often call him. He is also one of the most dependable forces for the growth and successes of the Assembly. His major obstacle, according to those who believe in him, is that he is from the Lagos East which produced Ambode.
“It is right that many of the old members have their eyes on the seat, but if zoning becomes the major consideration in the choice of whom becomes the Speaker next year, many of those currently eyeing the position would be disqualified,” a member of the House told P.M.NEWS Assembly Matters in confidence.
“The running mate to Ambode is from Lagos West and this leaves Lagos Central to produce the Speaker of the state. If this consideration is approved, then it means the position would be narrowed to only old members representing constituencies in the Lagos Central zone,” he added.
The Lagos Central zone is made up of the two constituencies of Lagos Island, one of which was won by Wasiu Eshilokun, who had served in the House as lawmaker between 1999 and 2003 and who just left the position of council chairman. Eshilokun, according to those close to him, argues that his being a member of the House at one time makes him qualify for the speakership position.
The zone also covers the two constituencies in Eti-Osa, one of which is represented by Gbolahan Yishawu, Surulere Constituencies 1 and 2 represented by Kabiru Lawal and Abdulrazak Balogun who would not be returning, and Lagos Mainland Constituencies 1 and 2 represented by Bashir Oloto and Moshood Oshun, the chairman, House Committee on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs. Oloto, a first term lawmaker, was defeated at the primary election.
The duo of Oshun and Yishawu have not stated any interest in the topmost seat of the House. However, their followers both within and outside the House argue that they have both shown that they are capable of holding the position judging from their inputs relating to law making, oversight and activities in the overall interest of the state.
Oshun, it is argued by his colleagues and staff of the Assembly, is a very liberal person, “who would ensure the welfare of the lawmakers and staff are paramount. Even as a member of the House, currently, Oshun does not joke with issues on his table, issues that have to do with his colleagues and members of staff. He is ready to fight even for the lowest cadre staff,” a lawmaker explained pointing to how he carries members of his committee along on issues of oversight.
“This is just part of the characteristics that make him qualify for the seat apart from being from Lagos Central. He is part of the lawmakers who insist that things must be done right. But it now depends on whether he is interested in the seat and whether the party would endorse him.”
P.M.NEWS Assembly Matters can also report that Oshun shares from the successes recorded in the state transport sector as a result of his contributions as chairman of the Transportation Committee in the sixth Assembly. As chairman of the Committee on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs in the current Assembly, his impact has been felt in all the 57 council areas of the state.
Oshun is credited with putting the out-gone council chairmen on their toes as many of them began competing among themselves to earn the commendation of the committee. This partly led to successes that have been recorded in many of the council areas.
Yishawu, though a first term lawmaker and Deputy Chairman of the Education Committee, has also recorded some successes. Apart from brilliance which he has often exuded at sittings, he is credited with the Anti-Smoking bill, a private member bill that was passed into law by the House and assented to by Governor Fashola some months ago. Those who favour him argue that this is not a mean feat because the man hit the ground running while most of his other colleagues were still busy learning the ropes.
As it seems now, the permutations would become thicker after the elections and in the build-up to the eighth Assembly. And the APC, the party that would have the majority would have a role to play.
“What can only change the tide is for the lawmakers to damn the consequences and pick one of them irrespective of the zone the lawmaker comes from,” one of the House members said.
Ikuforiji has however maintained that whoever God chooses as his replacement next year must be one that should build on his enviable legacies that have made the House best state Assembly in Nigeria and a centre of attraction for lawmakers across Africa.