•We shouldn’t because of electoral votes deny South-East Senate Presidency
Hon Timehin Adelegbe, represents Owo/Ose Federal Constituency of Ondo State in the House of Representatives. In this interview FRED ITUA, he appraised the performance of the 9th Assembly and also urged the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to allow the current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, the right of first refusal to emerge as Speaker of the 10th National Assembly.
The 9th Assembly is about completing its term. As a member of that chamber who recently won a fresh mandate, can you give us an appraisal of that Assembly in terms of performance?
To the best of my knowledge and ability, the 9th Assembly is a stable Assembly because if you look at the past, threats of impeachment here and there usually mar the tenure of an Assembly. However, this 9th Assembly has been very stable. That stability of the 9th Assembly, well the leadership style of the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, speaks volumes. He has done very well for the Assembly. However, this will not be complete without a loyal deputy. His deputy, Idris Wase, has been there for him, he has done very well for him and the 9th Assembly has come out victorious. A lot of bills and motions have been passed which the executive has worked on.
So, the 9th Assembly is a success story which was led by a cerebral Speaker because the Speaker did very well.
The perception out there is that the National Assembly is a rubber stamp parliament. What’s your reaction?
No, I don’t really believe that because for this country to grow at this our period, the Executive needs much of the cooperation of the National Assembly. All we are looking for is for Nigeria to grow. We cannot grow when we are fighting. There are many ways of correcting the Executive through various oversight functions which the House is noted for and we have done that excellently well. So, I don’t believe that because many things go under between the executive and legislature but we don’t need to wash our dirty linens outside. All we want is for Nigeria to be prosperous and grow.
You just won a fresh election. What is the high point of your stay here since you came to the National Assembly?
I think the highpoint of my activities in my constituency is anchored on the experience I have before coming here. Because as a senior banker before coming here, I have seen it all. There is no community in my constituency that did not feel my impact. There were communities in my area that in 50 years had not seen light. There is no community in my constituency that you don’t see my projects. I am not talking of just boreholes or solar light, no. I built bridges. So the result of our last election is just the performance of my governor, Rotimi Akeredolu and myself.
It seems the National Assembly just wants to be in the good books of the Executive. Nigerians are of the opinion that it has stifled opposition and ultimately, the interest of the poor masses is at the receiving end. What will you say about that?
Let me tell you, the truth is that we are all party men. The executive today is an APC government and the National Assembly too is headed by an APC leadership and before they come into National Assembly, they are from there and the party has a manifesto. So you don’t expect the two of them not to stand on implementation of those policies. So, if you see that they are co-operating you know that it is because they want to execute the real objectives and programmes of their party. So, it is left for the leadership to also find a way to curry the favour of the opposition to agree to those things.
There are fears that things might not be as smooth in the new dispensation because the APC might not enjoy a comfortable majority in the emerging 10th Assembly…
Yes, you are correct. However, you know we are all politicians. The structure or composition of National Assembly is not a straight-jacketed thing because no party can lay claims to a huge majority. However, the trust we have is that the leadership of our party knows the right thing to do. We are all politicians, and we know about relationship building. Anyone that is campaigning now to be the Speaker has to carry everybody along.
Let’s talk about the zoning of different positions in the House of Representatives. With the President-elect from the South-West, and his deputy from the North-East, which regions should have the speaker and deputy?
Well naturally, it is a very simple thing if we don’t put emotions into all those things. The North and South have three regions each. South-West and North-East have produced the President and Vice President respectively. Naturally Speaker cannot come from South-West or the North-East. So, in the North, we are left with North-West and North-Central. And looking at the advent of democracy till today, the North-West has produced four speakers. They produced Tambuwal, they produced Salisu Buhari, they produced Ghali Na’aba and they have produced Aminu Masari. So, morally, naturally, it should just go to the North-Central without causing instability in the National Assembly. Yes, North-West contributed hugely to the electoral victory of Asiwaju. Can we say because of electoral victory say we are going to block out South-East and South-South from taking leadership of the National Assembly? No.
Where will you now put the North-West which contributed the highest votes for the President-elect?
In fact, if I am to advise, Senate President should come from South-South or South-East. North-West should look into the area of Deputy President of the Senate and allow North-Central to taste the speakership.
Who would you narrow it down to in the North-Central?
Well, for now, to me, we have three formidable members that are in this race. – Hon Muktar Aliyu Betara from North-East, Hon Tajudeen Abbas from North-West, and Idris Wase, the deputy speaker from North Central. He is a loyal ally, so Wase should be a natural successor. It is not a thing that we should be making too much noise on.
He should have the right of first refusal?
Yes, he should have the right of first refusal.
Wase has visited the Governor Akeredolu of your state. Would you say Wase has been adopted as the favoured candidate of the South-West governors?
If you look at the explanation I have given, you will understand where we are. The governor has told me what is fair is fair, Wase should be a natural successor to maintain the stability of the National Assembly and also enhance the relationship between the Assembly and the executive. That’s the opinion of my governor. He’s supporting Wase and the North-Central. So, he said he has adopted Wase, and not only him, a lot of governors. Governor Yahaya Bello, who will be the most senior governor on May 30, has also said this is where to go. Many of these governors will go on May 29, so it means he will be the most senior governor from May 30.
Statistics has it that only 60 members of the 9th Assembly will be returning, so 300 members will be stepping into the floor of the chamber for the first time ever. How do you think the next leadership will cope with this in trying to stabilise early enough?
Thank you. You have made a very valid point. Yes, less than 100 is returning out of 360. The turnover is very, very high. We have not got to that in this country where a member will stay there for life. If you go to the Western world, there are some members of parliament that have been there for 40 to 50 years. But here, it is difficult. Number one, poverty level is very high so it brings in competition. However, coming to the National Assembly, that is where we need an experienced leader. And for an experienced leadership, Wase is capable, he has good character and he can deliver very well. He has been here for a very long time. He came to this House as an Action Congress representative, then to the Action Congress of Nigeria and then to APC. He is a progressive to the core. He respects the party very well so I know that he has the capacity to galvanise support and ensure smooth relationship at the chamber.
Back to the House leadership, there were press statements released by some youths calling on the national leadership of the party and the President-elect to consider zoning of Deputy Speaker of the House to South-West and to Ondo. If you are offered the Deputy Speaker’s position will you consider it?
I think that we should take one step after the other. What is important now for our party is to come up with a Speaker that has the capacity. That is the centre point of everything. And before we will now say we want to look at the South-West, is it not important we wait for the zoning of these positions? If the Deputy Speaker comes to the South-West, I think the leadership in the South-West will meet at one point or the other. However, everybody is qualified to have aspiration to be deputy speaker. As we speak, people from Ondo State want to be Deputy Speaker, people from Ekiti want to be Deputy Speaker, people from Osun want to be Deputy Speaker. Even in Lagos where they are still enjoying the Speaker today, they want to be Deputy Speaker. So when we get to that level first, let’s bring it to our area. If we are honoured with the Deputy Speaker, I know the leadership of the party will sit down to decide. For me as a person, you cannot put sweet in my mouth and I will swallow it because I have the capacity. Like I said, I came into the National Assembly having done well as a banker and I think my first four years is a huge success. So, there is no parameter or hard line you give that I will not qualify to be but I just believe in us doing one thing after the other. For now, the speakership position is important. We don’t even need to push it too much because there is a natural successor. All of us should galvanise our support towards Idris Wase.
A lot of your colleagues are already making subtle moves. Are you already making moves to at least galvanise support for yourself?
Well, I think that I will not liken myself to the era of Obasanjo where they just brought him from prison to come and become President of this country. So, naturally, I think I am doing that but it is not the first thing in my mind because I don’t jump guns. I am a loyal person to the core and I am answerable to my governor, Akeredolu. Anything he tells me I will do. If he tells me to leave National Assembly today, I will resign, I will leave. So, that is my own life. So if it comes to the South-West, I know he will not take decisions on his own. He will sit down with his colleagues to decide where to put it and if it comes to Ondo State, all of us here believe in the leadership of our governor. He will sit us down and we will look at it together. It is not a thing that I will be fighting for and we are all party men. It is what the party says that we will follow. If the party says Timehin take it, I will grab it.