THE EAGLES ONLINE– The leadership of the House of Representatives is set to change its Principal Officers when members resume after the Christmas and New Year break in January 2014.
The decision to effect the change is sequel to the emergence of the All Progressive Congress as the majority party in the Lower Chamber.
Last week, 37 members elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party formally decamped to the APC, citing relevant sections of the constitution.
With this development, the rank of APC swelled to 175 members to emerge as the majority party, thus pushing the PDP to minority party, with 171 members.
The 37 lawmakers that decamped were from Kano, Kwara, Sokoto, Adamawa and Rivers States.
The governors of the five states – Rotimi Amaechi, Murtala Nyako, Aliyu Wamakko, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Abdulfatah Ahmed had earlier defected, following the merger of the defunct ‘New PDP’, a faction of the ruling party with the APC.
Other parties represented in the House are: Labour Party, Democratic Peoples Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance and Accord Party (AP).
After reading the letter notifying the House of the defection, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal also announced that he was in possession of a court injunction restraining him from declaring the seats of the defectors vacant.
Last Wednesday, 22 Senators and some members of the House of Representatives secured a court injunction restraining the President of the President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the leadership of the PDP from declaring the seats of decampees vacant.
The Eagle Online gathered that during the week, there was a meeting between the APC Caucus in House and Speaker Tambuwal, during which agreements were struck.
It was learnt that the APC leadership agreed that Speaker Tambuwal and his Deputy, Emeka Ihedioha, should retain their positions while other Minority Principal Officers should take over as Majority Principal Officers.
Thus, Femi Gbajabiamila (APC-Lagos) is said to be warming up to takeover from Mulikat Adeola-Akande (PDP-Oyo) as Majority Leader.
Also, Deputy Leader, Leo Ogor; Chief Whip, Ishaka Bawa; and Deputy Whip, Ahmed Muktar Muhammed, are also poised to lose their seats.
To join Gbajabiamila on the majority side as Principal Officers are Deputy Minority Leader, Sumaila Kawu; Minority Whip, Samson Osagie; and Deputy whip, Garba Datti.
The leadership of the PDP, it was learnt, will determine whether the present Principal Officers on the majority side should become Minority Officers or they would nominate other members to takeover the positions.
On resumption of plenary in January, the APC is expected to formally notify the office of the speaker to allow it nominate the its Principal Officers in line with the House rules, having become the majority party.
The Eagle Online also gathered that once that is effected, the Speaker may dissolve all the standing committees so that members of the APC in their new status could head some of the so-called ‘juicy’ committees.

seunmsg: I really pity hon. Mulikat Akande, she will be the first major casualty of the APC tsunami hitting the PDP. Going forward, we expect APC to eventually take over the leadership of both chambers in the national assembly and Aso rock in 2015. PDP's time is up, its time for change everywhere.

mikeansy: Tambuwal and Emeka Ihedioha to retain their positions as what? PDP members or APC members?

Now that sounds like a constitutional invention. Someone need to tell this people that you just cant pluck the rules from thin air.

The minority party can not produce the Speaker

Tambuwal can not have it so man ways. He has to do one of the following:

1. Step down as speaker as PDP are now minority

or

2. Work with PDP to reclaim their seats through the courts and declare the relevant seats vacant

or

3. Switch parties now to APC and go through another NASS election for the Speaker under APC

and if APC as the new majority party (i.e. until the courts decide) wants to relinquish their right as a majority party to produce the leader then, it should be down to the PDP caucus to choose who the minority speaker should be and not Tambuwal/Ihedioha's private decision.

its that simple!

tokunboh: I laugh, I still remember the days Egbon Femi used to beg for political relevance around Surulere (right from then, I saw another political jobber in the making). Majority leader ko, minority follower ni. Do you think the PDP will relinquish the principal offices in the house of reps based on APC having a simple majority? Wake up from your slumber, people

Aigipan:

You are either stup1d or ignorant . So the minority party in the house should hold the majority leader position? You remember when he used to beg for relevance, now he is in the house of reps and you are nairaland writing trash.

DerideGull: @OP

This silly rascality found among certain corrupt politicians in Nigeria who decamp from a sponsoring party to another party that did not contest election is black-eye on democracy. Any elective office holder who deemed it necessary to decamp from the party that sponsored the election must resign from the elective office in order to allow the party that sponsored the election to appoint a replacement to complete the term or a special election had to be staged by INEC.

Aigipan:

You are either stup1d or ignorant . So the minority party in the house should hold the majority leader position? You remember when he used to beg for relevance, now he is in the house of reps and you are nairaland writing trash.

simpleseyi:

Isa Yuguda was elected governor under ANPP, he later decamped to PDP and married one of Yar'adua's daughter as 3rd wife (what an insult to womanhood). Musiliu Obanikoro and Wahab Dosunmu represented Lagos in the Senate, they were elected under AD but decamped to PDP. These people and some others did not lose their seats. Why should it be different in this case?

simpleseyi:

Stop harassing tokunboh nah, the guy is jobless just like you and I, if we are very busy, we wont be on Nairaland 24/7. Remember 5 is greater than 27 in Rivers House of Assembly just as 16 is greater than 19 in Governors' Forum. For this reason, the minority party should hold the position of majority leader.

But, I pity the ex-majority leader Mulikat Adeola-Akande ooo, she first lost out the position of Speaker when ACN and independent minded PDP honourables supported Tambuwa, she was compensated with majority leader, now Femi Gbajabiamila is about to take majority leader from her and give her minority leader, it is like exchanging Gold with Aluminum. I think Mulikat Adeola-Akande should go and do okija juju to stop this demotion and humiliation.

drnoel: why are these people still keeping their sits when the constitution clearly says their sits are vacant?