The suspense over the composition of the standing committees of the House of Representatives was broken yesterday by the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal with a call for maturity and closing of ranks as he unveiled names of committee chairmen and their deputies.
Tambuwal also announced a new Leader for the House, Hon Mulikat Adeola-Akande, to end weeks of speculation over the position.

Six new committees were created to push the number of committees from 84 to 90, while some former chairmen retained their positions A-List committees. The new committees are Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency [FERMA], Federal Road Safety Commission [FRSC], Lake Chad, ICT, Local Content and Reform Government Institutions.

Before reading out the names of chairmen of the committees, Tambuwal reminded the House that the constitution of standing committees represented the main vehicle to actualise the constitution brief of any Parliament. According to him, it had become imperative to constitute the House Standing committees since it had been established that legislative work could not be conducted fully in plenary sessions.

In constituting the committees, he stated that the leadership put into consideration the roles played by bipartisanship in its emergence, hence the need for members to close ranks so that regressive conventionality would have little or no place in the House at this particular time of the nation’s history.
“As we begin on this new journey, I must state that all Committees are equal in the essence of their constitution and being.

“The core objective is service. It will therefore be clearly unhelpful for lawmakers to see some as superior to others or that one is more ‘juicy’ than another.“At this particular moment in our history, a solid closing of ranks would be far more preferable than a contentious in-house crisis over perceptions of inferiority or superiority of parliamentary committee chairmanship or membership.” The speaker said that what the leadership and the Selection committee did was to rely on the nomination made by each state and marry it with areas of core competences of members in deploying such talents effectively.

He challenged the chairmen of the committees to show maturity and courage in closing of ranks to achieve the legislative agenda. Among old members who retained the chairmanship positions are Hon Farouk Lawan, Education, Patrick Ikhariale, Power, Beni Lar, Human Rights, Ifeanyi Ugwanyi, Maritime, Nicholas Mutu, NDDC, Abiodun Akinlade, Science and Technology, Kadijat Buka Ibrahim, Privatisation, Esuiche Ubani, Climate Change, Yakubu Dogara, House Services.

For the first time in the history of the House in the present dispensation, the chairmanship of Appropriation committee went to a region other than that of the speaker, it went to John Enoh from the South-south.
Hon Ndudi Elumelu was returned as chairman of Health committee, while the chairman of Finance Committee went to Abdumumuni Jibrin from Kano State. Former spokesman of the House, Hon Eseme Eyiboh was returned as chairman of Civil Society and Donor Agencies, while Jerry Manwe returned as chairman of Electoral Matters.

Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, formerly of Banking and Currency is now chairman Works, Aminu Shagari, Judiciary, Nnenna Ukeje, formerly of Donor Agencies, but now Foreign Affairs, Umar Bature moved from Foreign Affairs to committee on Interior. Muraina Ajibola, a top contender for the position of the speaker when it was zoned to the South-west by the ruling PDP was compensated with the chairman of Petroleum Upstream, while Warman Ogoriba is to man the committee on Niger Delta Ministry.

Among members of opposition parties named as committee chairmen included Opeyemi Bamidele of Legislative Budget and Research, Mansur Owolabi, Anti Corruption, Rasaq Adewusi, State and Local Governments.

Addressing the media later, House new spokesman, Zakari Mohammed said that the speaker had done the best for the House, but that adjustment should not be ruled out later.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/sept/16/national-16-09-2011-003.html