By Joshua Egbodo
Abuja
Another attempt by a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Sunday Adepoju (APC), to openly dump the Deputy Chairman, Committee on Special Duties position offered him by Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, was yesterday blocked for failing to comply with the House’s standing orders.
Adepoju, a member of the APC loyalists group who were in support of Gbajabiamila, had raised a point of order, citing Order VI, which deals with matters of privileges of members, thanking the leadership of the House for finding him worthy from the party, and from his zone as well as his state to serve in the capacity of the Deputy Chairman of a committee.
Apparently sure of the point at which Adepoju was driving at, Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun, who presided over the plenary interrupted him, urginghim to read Rule 20 of the cited Order in full, to which Adepoju complied.
Lasun ruled the lawmaker out of order on grounds that the matter he was talking about did not suddenly arose on the floor, since according to him, it was exactly one week yesterday when Dogara announced the leadership of the committees.
“You are talking on a matter that has been on for a week now. You should have written the Speaker formally to lay any complain you have, and because the matter did not suddenly arose, I, therefore, rule you out of order,” Lasun said.
Blueprint gathered that the action was a gang-up by the Gbajabiamila’s camp which is not satisfied with outcome of the committee headship selection, to embarrass Dogara through the open floor rejections, but was outsmarted by Lasun who did not allow same to happen.
Meanwhile, another member from Benue state, Hon. Hassan Saleh (PDP), has formerly written to the Speaker, announcing his rejection of the Deputy Chairmanship of the Committee on Local Content offered him last week. Though reasons for his rejection could not be verified before this report, but it might not be unconnected with the perception that he was made Deputy to a firs term member, Hon. Emmanuel Okon, also of the PDP.
