Lawmakers attack Obasanjo over Comment

It took the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, on Wednesday to have stopped the agitation by Nigerian law makers to protest obasanjo’s derogatory comment on Nigerian lawmakers. The Senate also concluded that they will be waiting for the former president to point at those thieves and rogues amongst them, and to stop making a general comment. Prior to Tambuwal’s intervention, angry lawmakers had chastised Oasanjo over what it termed derogatory comment with the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr. Suleiman Kawu, already declaring“Obasanjo lacked the moral authority to call lawmakers rogues and armed robbers.” Obasanjo’s comment on the lawmakers came at the fourth Academy for Entrepreneurial Studies, Nigeria, annual national conference in Lagos, asserting that most that members of the legislature in the country are rogues and criminals. Kawu who raised the objection on the floor of the house had attacked the president with insults and was later cut shut by the speaker
who referred the case had raised an order under matters of urgent public importance to table the ex-President’s attack on lawmakers on the floor. According to him, Obasanjo lack good and had no “moral authority to call lawmakers armed robbers, Mr. Speaker.” The speaker had advised the his colleagues not to run to conclusion now, especially that they were not there when the comment was made, hence the Committee on Ethics was charged with the responsibility to further investigate the matter. The Committee was asked to make its report available by the end of next week for further action. The chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Information, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has equally advised Obasanjo to come up with the names of the rogues and thieves amongst them. He said, “We have been getting too many enquiries relating to the statement by former President of Nigeria that the National Assembly is full of rogues. Our statement is as follows: The National Assembly has great respect for the person of the former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and the National Assembly can never engage in any talk back with the President. “We actually feel that the former President would help the National Assembly and indeed also help Nigeria in the new spirit of transparency and openness in assisting the National Assembly by naming those that he knows in the National Assembly as either rogues or criminals. “That will help us to sanitise the polity. We sincerely thank him for his role in Nigeria as someone who cares very deeply about the Nigerian state as at the moment. “Not just President Obasanjo, we also urge other Nigerians who are concerned about Nigeria to in the spirit of transparency let us know whatever information that they have so that we can use it to check ourselves so that we will be able to make Nigeria a better place.” Chief Whip of the House, Mr. Isiaka Bawa, revealed that no further action would be taken until the committee makes its report available by the end of next week. Bawa said, “As a leader of the House, once the House takes a stand on any issue like this, we can no longer talk on it. The matter came up on the floor and we resolved to investigate it thoroughly before making any reactions. “For example, we have to hear from the former President whether he actually said what was attributed to him. “He may say that he never said such or that what he meant was not accurately reported.” Bawa had declared that the outcome of the report will determine whether Obj will be invited to House or not.