Barring sudden change in schedule, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, will name the chairmen of about 94 standing committees of the House on Thursday.
The appointment of the chairmen will be coming more than four months after the Eight House was inaugurated.
Investigations by The PUNCH on Monday showed the Selection Committee, headed by Dogara, had concluded its assignment and was ready with the names of the chairmen.
“The committees would have been named last week, but the Speaker had to tarry awhile due to some unresolved issues. You will recall there has been some heat in the House since the election of presiding officers on June 9.
“Tempers are about calming down; so, the issue of committee chairmen has to be done in such a way that no side or interest will feel sidelined”, a senior lawmaker told The PUNCH in Abuja.
The PUNCH had reported exclusively on Monday last week that the Speaker had come under pressure from his colleagues to name the chairmen towards ensuring commencement of serious legislative duties. Many of them had complained of being idle.
It was also learnt the leadership of key committees had been reserved for lawmakers considered to be “committed loyalists” of the Speaker.
The members, tagged ‘rebels’, were those who supported Dogara’s emergence as Speaker against the wish of their party, the All Progressives Congress.
The APC was said to have wanted the current House Majority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, to emerge as the Speaker. But many APC members teamed up with their Peoples Democratic Party colleagues to produce Dogara as the Speaker in a contest where eight votes separated Dogara from Gbajabiamila.
It was learnt that one of the “rebels”, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, who was the chairman, House Committee on Finance, would be named the chairman, Committee on Appropriation.
Jibrin was first a contestant for the speakership. He later stepped down and declared support for Dogara. He did this at a time the party warned members against opposing its preferred candidate for the job.
Another member to be favoured is Mr. Babangida Ibrahim, an APC member from Katsina State. He was the only one among the 11 APC lawmakers from President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state to support Dogara’s emergence.
It was gathered he would likely succeed Jibrin as the Chairman, Committee on Finance.
A former chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, who was also “rebellious”, will lead a key committee, among other pro-Dogara loyalists.
Among PDP members, a former Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Nnena Ukeje, will also get a “prime committee.”
As for the majority of APC members, their fate, according to findings, will be decided by Gbajabiamila. A similar role was also said to have been reserved for the House Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, who would decide which PDP member would get a committee chair.
“The committees have been shared out to the leaders. Gbajabiamila will largely decide those APC members to be appointed as committee chairmen. Same goes for the PDP and other minority party members. The minority leader has their list.
“It is a way of leaving the Speaker out of the issue, especially if you consider the fact that in the APC, those who supported him were fewer, compared to those who were against him.
The Chairman, House Adhoc Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Sani Zoro, could not be reached for comments on Monday.
Zoro did not answer calls to his mobile telephone. He also did not reply to text messages by our correspondent.
However, Zoro had earlier told The PUNCH the delay witnessed in announcing the committees was to ensure “transparency” in the distribution of the seats.
“The issue of crises or banana peels does not arise. The committees are going through a very transparent process”, Zoro had assured.
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