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Tag: Femi Gbajabiamila

Gbajabiamila tasks RMAFC on fair, just review of revenue allocation
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has charged the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to ensure a fair, just and equitable review of revenue allocation in the country.
The Speaker said in its attempt to review the revenue allocation in the country, which was last done almost 30 years ago, the commission should ensure that all stakeholders were carried along and that all necessary things are done so that the final report could not be faulted.
Gbajabiamila, who hosted the management of the commission led by its chairman, Engr. Elias Mbam for a courtesy call on the leadership of the House on Tuesday at the National Assembly, said the current realities should necessitate a review of the revenue allocation.
“I’m glad you’re here. Your commission is one of the unsung heroes. You’re of the 14 institutions established by the constitution, while all others were established by other laws.
“It’s almost 30 years that the last review was done. It’s such a long time. A lot has changed from 1992 to date.
“I charge you to do your review, not based on any sentiment. You should consult widely so that your report won’t be faulted. I’m glad you said you’re conducting public hearings. It’s good to do that, to seek people’s opinions.
“You should work based on the principles of justice, equity and fairness,” Gbajabiamila said, adding that Nigeria is a peculiar country, hence the need to do a thorough and diligent review.
He said the House would support the commission in whatever way possible, noting that the commission’s management was at the right place to seek support.
On the issue of amendment of the RMAFC Act, Gbajabiamila asked the agency to provide specific areas that needed to be amended, especially on the issue of the Petroleum Industry Act as cited by Engr. Mbam.
“In terms of autonomy, I need to know if you don’t enjoy autonomy and how you’re not autonomous. The House is here to partner with you. We must work together. We must give you the enabling environment to operate effectively.”
Earlier, Engr Mbam informed the House leadership that the visit was to seek the support, advice and guidance of the House on the planned review of revenue allocation that the commission was to embark on.
He said since the last review in 1992, things have changed and that there was the need to review the revenue allocation to accommodate those changes.
He said: “We now feel strongly that the review has become necessary. A lot of things have changed since 1992.
“There are concerns now that were not there before. So, there is the need to review the allocation to make sure that what every tier of government gets is in line with its current responsibilities.”
As part of the plans for the review, Engr Mbam said the commission has embarked on wide consultations across the country including visiting past presidents, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the judiciary, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) as well as engagements with the media, CSOs, among others.
He said the commission has commenced sensitization in different states and that it would hold public hearings with regard to the planned review, starting with the Southwest next week.
Engr Mbam thanked the Speaker for accepting to host them on short notice, saying “if all Nigerians will work like this, we all will be better for it.”
September 29, 2021
Gbajabiamila condoles with King Sunny Ade over wife’s death
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has condoled with Juju maestro, King Sunny Ade, over the death of his wife, Risikat Ajoke Adegeye.
Gbajabiamila described the late Risikat Ajoke Adegeye, a former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, as a committed and patriotic Nigerian who gave her best to the country.
The Speaker recalled how the late Mrs Sunny Ade, who was also the 2019 APC House of Representatives candidate in Amuwo Odofin, used her God-given resources for philanthropic activities to lift the lives of others.
He said her efforts while on earth would not go in vain and prayed for the repose of her soul.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, the Speaker said it was ironical that the late Risikat died just a day to the 75th birthday of her husband.
Gbajabiamila sent his condolences to the King Sunny Ade family and prayed God to give them the fortitude to bear the loss.
September 22, 2021
Speaker Gbajabiamila greets Senator Remi Tinubu at 61
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has rejoiced with the Senator representing Lagos Central, Oluremi Tinubu, on her 61st birthday.
The Speaker expressed happiness that Senator Tinubu, who is the wife of the APC national leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is celebrating her 61st birthday in good health.
He said the Senator representing Lagos Central has made her mark over the years, since her complimentary role as First Lady of Lagos State till this moment in the Red Chamber .
The Speaker recalled with delight how Senator Tinubu became a mother to all Lagosians when she was the First Lady of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007.
He lauded Senator Remi Tinubu for coming up with various people-oriented programmes in her Senatorial District, which he said have attracted a lot of beneficiaries over the years.
He wished Mrs Tinubu God’s continuous protection and guidance and prayed that the Almighty God will grant her more years in good health.
September 21, 2021
House to ensure constitution amendment provides for inclusiveness, unity – Gbajabiamila
…says ‘Nigeria belongs to all of us’
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the House would ensure that the ongoing constitution amendment produces a document that would entrench inclusiveness and unity among Nigerians.
Gbajabiamila said the efforts of the House would also put in place mechanisms for holding the institutions of state accountable and “put an end to the debilitating conflicts that continue to tear our nation apart.”
Delivering the keynote address at the 112th Founder’s Lecture of the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) on Saturday in Lagos, with the theme ‘Unity in Diversity, Stronger Together,’ Gbajabiamila said Nigeria stands to achieve a lot when the citizens are united.
Gbajabiamila, who went down memory lane, said having inherited the union called Nigeria, “we have built it up and held it together. We accomplished this through joint effort over many years.
“We did it through citizens moving from one end of the country to another, acquiring education, building businesses, making friends, falling in love, and marrying. We did it through the joy of shared victories and the mourning of communal loss.
“We took ownership of our country by sacrificing blood, sweat and tears to secure democratic governance and make Nigeria into a place where grand visions can be made real by determined effort and where hope can thrive. As in the words of our old national anthem, we have made of this nation where ‘though tribes and tongue may differ in brotherhood we stand’.”
Gbajabiamila, who said “Nigeria belongs to all of us in equal measure,” noted that “the creation of this union was divinely ordained. Therefore, it is our sacred duty as citizens of this great country to identify the purpose of this divine creation and give ourselves to those activities that will make real the divine purpose of our national union.”
“In the House of Representatives, we are currently in the process of a substantive review of our nation’s constitution. Our objective is to deliver a constitution that more effectively organises our politics to make it more inclusive, enshrine efficient mechanisms for holding the institutions of state to account and put an end to the debilitating conflicts that continue to tear our nation apart.
“We will not produce a perfect constitution; no such thing has ever existed in the world. However, together we can, by the choices we make and our actions, use our constitution as the foundational document of our nationhood to give life to the best promise of Nigeria.”
He called for the buy-in and support of Nigerians, especially “credible voices from outside of government,” for the House to succeed in achieving its objectives.
The Speaker said Nigeria’s “unity is incumbent on our ability to do three things and do them well. The first is to ensure that the government respects, protects and guarantees the fundamental rights of all citizens, without exception.
“The second is to provide a society where our people are free from want and have the resources to pursue their dreams and achieve their best aspirations. The third is by freeing our people from the abject terror and accompanying limitations of wanton insecurity in all its forms.
“This is the pathway to a truly united Nigeria. A nation where our diversity is a source of strength, and we are not defined by the differences of tribe, tongue, religion and history. All of the above depends a lot on the quality of political leadership at all levels of government. It also depends on whether we are ready to have the difficult conversations about the realities of our country without recourse to easy tropes and comforting shibboleths.”
He urged that” In our public and private lives, we must also make a conscious effort to reject the formulation of thought and actions that elevate every point of difference and disagreement into a seismic breaking of alliances.
“We cannot continue to assume and act in the assumption that every criticism, political action and governing decision, for good or bad, is the product of ethnic, religious or other such considerations. We need to begin once more to extend to ourselves the benefit of kindness and the assumption of good intentions. We are capable of this.”
September 18, 2021
Gbajabiamila didn’t compare IPOB, Yoruba Nation Agitators with Boko Haram, ISWAP
It has come to the attention of the Office of the Speaker, House of Representatives, that some media reports on Wednesday, September 15, claimed that the Speaker, in his welcome address to his colleagues at Wednesday’s plenary, purportedly said IPOB and Yoruba nation agitators are the same with Boko haram.
In view of the impression created by the said reports, it has become necessary to clarify that the Speaker, in his speech, never mentioned any group.
For the records, the Speaker said some miscreants and criminals are taking advantage of the separationist agitations to carry their activities.
Hereunder is what the Speaker said:
“We must now add to these concerns an emerging threat that presents the same clear and present danger. In the South of Nigeria, East and West, MISCREANTS AND CRIMINALS MASQUERADING AS SEPARATIONIST ACTIVISTS have emerged to wreak havoc, take lives and commit economic sabotage against fellow Nigerians and the state.
“These people, in their inclination for devastating violence against fellow citizens, their appetite for the destruction of private property, their disruption of academic activities, commerce, and industry, their propensity for defiling institutions of the state, society and community, their refusal to engage in debate, or to consider the possibility of dissenting opinions and alternative viewpoints, are no different from Boko Haram and ISWAP. Given space and time, they will take our nation down the same path of destruction.”
From the above, there was nowhere that the Speaker mentioned the name of any group. What was conspicuous in the Speaker’s speech was the focus of the activities of MISCREANTS AND CRIMINALS, and its effect on the country.
The Speaker never condemned secessionists or compared them to terrorists.
As a matter of fact, the Speaker is not alone on the concern about an apparent emergence of a band of miscreants and criminals as different patriotic Nigerians have expressed similar concerns and even condemned the act of maiming, killing, destruction of property and other criminalities perpetrated by the masqueraders.
September 15, 2021
Sanwo-Olu May Get A Second Term Ticket – Gbajabiamila
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, has hinted that incumbent Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State may get a second term ticket.
There have been speculations that Sanwo-Olu would be denied the second term ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) because of the treatment given to his predecessor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, in 2019.
Under the current democratic dispensation, Ambode is the only governor to have spent a single term as Lagos governor.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Mr Babatunde Fashola both spent two terms as governors.
But speaking in an interview on Channels TV, on Tuesday morning, Gbajabiamila said, “The fact that we had a one term Governor doesn’t mean it will be the same forever.”
Asked if he is interested in the position, Gbajabiamila, who is an inidigene of Lagos, said he is occupied with his assignment as the number four man in the country.
Responding to the question, he said, “That provokes a smile. No, I don’t have any such plan. I have a job I am doing right now. It is a tough job, very tough job. I don’t want any distraction. I am working as a Speaker of the House of Representatives with a lot of responsibilities on my shoulder right now.
“Any other thing is a distraction. As for Lagos State Governorship, I don’t talk about it. Why because the present Governor is doing a good job,” he said.
September 14, 2021
‘National Assembly spends just 2 per cent of annual budget’ – Gbajabiamila
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Saturday, said the National Assembly spends less than two per cent of the national budget, wondering why no one is asking questions about the remaining 98 per cent.
Gbajabiamila said this as his reaction to a statement credited to the Vice-Chancellor of Ahman Pategi University, Patigi, Kwara state, Professor Mahfouz Adedimeji, who opined that Nigeria runs the most expensive National Assembly in the world.
The university boss and the Speaker both spoke at the 10th annual symposium of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, B-Zone, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Prof. Adedimeji, who was the guest lecturer at the occasion touched on the theme, ‘Saving a nation on the precipice: between re-federation and secessionalism.’
Adedimeji had emphasised the need to rejig the operations of the legislature in Nigeria, stating that the nation’s parliament is the most expensive in the world.
“With due respect to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nigeria spends the highest amount of money on the legislators in the world and the National Assembly consumes more money than any other parliament in the world.
“A unicameral legislature with two representatives from each state is sufficient. The National Assembly should have less than 100 members, including Abuja,” the varsity don’t said in his lecture.
However, Gbajabiamila absolutely disagreed with the Vice-Chancellor, describing his perception as wrong.
Gbajabiamila who was represented as the Chairman of the occasion by Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka of Ifo/Ewekoro constituency, mentioned that the money budgeted for the National Assembly was two per cent of the total budget.
“No one till today has actually sat down to go into research and define the meaning of legislators.
“The money being spent on the national assembly is less than two per cent of the total budget of this country; but nobody, has ever looked at what is happening to the remaining 98 per cent. And when you say National Assembly, you are not talking about legislators, who are the lawmakers only. You are also talking about the National Assembly Commission, you are talking about everything, all encompassing,” he said.
The Speaker regretted that no one had ever sat down to go into research and define what the National Assembly actually means.
He charged Nigerians to change the perception that Nigeria runs the most expensive National Assembly in the world.
September 11, 2021
Why we must strive for balance in tackling hate speech, misinformation -Gbajabiamila
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that tackling hate speech and misinformation has become the responsibility of all major stakeholders, especially Parliaments around the world, as the negative consequences of the two can only be imagined.
Gbajabiamila said parliaments must find in all regulatory or legislative interventions, a balance between protecting the right to free speech and the right to life, peace and dignity.
According to him, proper and legal means should be followed in countering hate speech and misinformation both off and online so as not to tamper with the rights of citizens to free expression.
Gbajabiamila spoke on Tuesday on the topic, ‘Countering Misinformation and Hate Speech On and Offline Requires Stronger Regulations’, at the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament taking place in Vienna, Austria.
The Speaker said technology and new media had led to the democratisation of public debate in a way that, if appropriately managed, could be to the benefit of citizens and nations worldwide.
“However, at the same time, it has created the ideal circumstances for bad actors to spread misinformation, and to manipulate people in ways that threaten our societies,” he added.
Gbajabiamila said the right to free speech was not without limits as it did not include the freedom to plant wilful misinformation and that it did not excuse the actions of those who sought to use the freedom of public debate to exacerbate existing fissures in the society, “and it does not include a right to ignite social tensions, through lies and fake news in our societies, without consequence.
“Those who abuse the right of freedom of expression ought to be appropriately held accountable for their actions, especially when they result in evident bad outcomes.”
The speaker noted that “when individuals or entities use misinformation for their own gain but undermine constructive public policy debates, they should and must be held accountable. Indeed, when misinformation results in harm to individuals and institutions, the perpetrators should be identified and held liable.”
However, he noted that “this is not to suggest that governments should be in the business of deciding who gets to speak or what amounts to proper speech. However, when it is clear that speech has had negative consequences, it falls to the government to define the criminal and civil processes for accountability.
“To do otherwise will be an abdication of the role of government in a free society, and that is not only unacceptable but also a dereliction of duty. Parliaments must lead from the front in tackling this scourge or we all shall pay a heavy price.”
Coming to Nigeria, Gbajabiamila said with the country’s diverse cultures and religions that were still working toward achieving a more perfect union, hate speech off and online could have a devastating real-world effect very quickly.
“Therefore, for us, countering misinformation through proper and legal means is not a theoretical question but a moral and constitutional responsibility. It is a matter that goes to the heart of our ability to continue to exist as one nation in peace, unity and prosperity”, he explained.
The Speaker cautioned that “we must be aware of the danger that lies in trying to prevent the worst consequences of misinformation and hate speech, as some State interventions can also go too far in ways that smother the marketplace of ideas and impinge on human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“Our cause, therefore, is the creation of legal systems, processes and protocols that allow for free expression and robust debate in society; yet remain capable of identifying and holding to account those who seek to abuse the rights we hold dear and subvert our societies for their narrow interests, through the scourge of choreographed and mischievously curated misinformation off and online.”
Gbajabiamila cited the examples of the misinformation on the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill introduced in the House last year; the protests against Covid-19 vaccination around the world, and the problem of racism against some footballers in the UK.
Other speakers of Parliaments that spoke at the session supported the idea of regulating the space for hate speech and misinformation while emphasising the need to protect freedom of expression.
September 8, 2021
Gbajabiamila greets SGF, Boss Mustapha at 65
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has congratulated the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, for clocking the age of 65.
Gbajabiamila, who described Boss Mustapha as one of the pillars of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the SGF has made laudable contributions toward the achievements recorded by the APC-led government.
Saying the SGF remains a gentle and unassuming man, Gbajabiamila noted that Nigerians, especially the youth, have a lot to learn from the Adamawa born politician.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Lanre Lasisi, said the SGF remains a strong pillar of this administration.
He described Mustapha as a repository of humility, love and care for Nigerians, wishing the SGF more fruitful years in good health.
September 4, 2021
Gbajabiamila celebrates Lagos APC chieftain, Dr Odunmbaku, at 75
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has rejoiced with a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Dr James Omolaja Odunmbaku, on his 75th birthday.
Gbajabiamila said Dr Odunmbaku has been serving his people diligently and dedicatedly, noting that he is a lover of his people.
The Speaker, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, said Dr Odunmbaku remains one of the most committed APC members in Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole.
He said Nigerians would also remember the sacrifices made by Dr Odunmbaku during the struggle for the entrenchment of democracy in the country.
While wishing the APC chieftain more years in good health, Gbajabiamila prayed that the Almighty God would continue to sustain the life of Dr Odunmbaku.
September 4, 2021