By Yemi Akintomide
The outcome of the February 25, 2023 Presidential and National Assembly Elections has thrown out a lots of political intrigues, discrepancies in religion, ethnicity and moral burden into the body polity of the Country like never before.
However, after the former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared the winner of the Presidential poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the next step as good citizens is to begins the process of reconciliation, progress, peace and unity of the entire components that made up Nigeria for speedy development in all sectors.
In achieving and reaching the above goal, the National Assembly as a body is playing a vital and leading role in the new nation building and renewed hope matra of the President-elect. The full cooperation and harmonious working relationship between the Presidency and the National Assembly is sacrosanct and unchanged.
As as a matter of fact, the Nigeria National Assembly, NASS is made up two Chambers (Red and Green Chambers). The Red chamber or better known as Upper Chamber consists of 109 Senators representing the Senatorial Districts in the thirty six States and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT and the Green Chamber (Lower Chamber) with 360 Honourable members their Federal Constituencies. Because of the large number and diversity in membership, the Federal House of Representatives is always more vibrant, combative, sensational, with lots of political intrigues on National issues and leadership tussle.
The race on who becomes the next Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives is hot up and because of the statutory role of the Nationa Assembly, the chioce of who leads at both Chambers is paramount to the President for smooth and successful delivery of the agenda to the people. That is why the current choice of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu are the most adequate and most important first official assignment for a workable template for the 10th Narional Assembly.
The President-elect and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC had settled for Senator Godwill Akpabio from Akwa-Ibom in the South-South region as Senate President and Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, representing Zaria Federal Constituency in Kaduna State as Speaker of Federal House of Representatives, respectively. While the Senate Presidency is almost sealed, the Speakership is still in contention.
Some of the elected lawmakers that have indicated interest in Speaker’s position include; Tajudeen Abbas, Yusuf Gadgi, Ahmed Wase, Sanni Jaji, Aliyu Betara, Sada Soli, Benjamin Kalu, Ado Doguwa and Abubakar Yallerman.
However, since the President-elect and the NEC of the ruling APC had jointly endorsed Hon. Tajudeen Abass as the next Speaker, many Nigerians have continued to support the choice for national unity and progress. The current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila had also advised lawmakers of the 10th National Assembly to give their support to Hon. Tajudeen Abass, the choice of the President-Elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, adding that Tinubu has appealed that all contestants for the position of Speaker should withdraw from the race and support Tajudeen Abass.
Gbajabiamila, while addressing members and members-elect in Abuja last Tuesday, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, presented Hon. Tajudeen Abass as the choice of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as Speaker, stressing that Tinubu would prevail on other contestants to step-down for Abass.
A fifth-time member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, 58, is a member of the Federal House of Representatives, representing Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna State under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC).
He attended KTC, Katsina where he obtained Grade II teachers certificate in 1981 and went ahead to obtain Bachelors Degree in Business Administration in 1988 from Ahmadu Bello University, ABU in Zaria.
He also proceeded for his Masters Degree in Business Administration which he got also from Ahmadu Bello University in the year 1993, while he further obtained Doctorate Degree in Business Administration from Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto in the year 2010.
Abass later took up lecturing job in a polytechnic from 1989 to 1993. From 2001 to 2005, he was a marketing manager with NTC Plc, while from 2005 to 2010, he went to lecture at Kaduna State University.
Hon. Tajudeen Abass was first elected into the Federal House of Representatives in year 2011 to represents Zaria Federal Constituency. Since then, he has continued to secure his re-election 2015 into the Federal House under the platform of (APC) All Progressives Congress now, and will continue representing the people of Zaria Federal Constituency from 2023-2027.
His legislative interests border on appropriation, finance, education, national planning and public procurement and health. Dr. Abbas is currently rated as the lawmaker with highest sponsored bills signed the President and have became Acts of the National Assembly. In total, he had seventy- five sponsored bills to his credit to make him ranked as the best legislator in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly.
The unmatched academic, administrative and legislative records of Hon. (Dr.) Tajudeen Abass shot him up while above his peers and among the contenders for the Speakership seat, which might have attracted the President-elect to make Abass his choice due to his (Tinubu) unrelenting hunt for the best hands in governance and administration.
The frontline candidate for the position of the Speaker of the incoming 10th House of Representatives, Dr. Abbas Tajudeen believed that the President-Elect settled for him due to his pedigree and commitment to his duties in the lower legislative chamber saying; “I want to believe, first and foremost, that he (Tinubu) is impressed with my legislative contributions. I have told him I’ve been in the National Assembly since 2011, and I’ve been there now for almost 12 years back-to-back, and I’ve contributed in sponsoring a lot of bills.
He said further: “In the 8th Assembly, I sponsored 43 bills, which gave me the number 1 ranking in terms of those who sponsored bills. And in the 9th Assembly, I had the singular honour of sponsoring 74 bills, out of which 21 have been assented to by Mr President, and they’re now laws in the country.
“Besides that, I went to tell him where I come from, my academic background, and that I was a teacher in primary school. I was the head of an accounting department of a polytechnic from 1989 to 1993. I was also the head of the banking and finance department at a polytechnic again between 2003 and 2005. I was the founding head of accounting of Kaduna State University.
“I told him my private sector experience, that I was a marketing manager with the Nigerian Tobacco Company, which is now British American Tobacco. I told him about my journey there up to the time when I became the general manager of a subsidiary company before I resigned and went back to the classroom in 2001.
“He is impressed with my credentials, the places that I have worked, particularly in the public and private sectors, and also my modest contributions in the National Assembly. I’m sure whatever makes him to say he is happy with me is probably because of those experiences, the qualifications that I have.
“I believe the President-elect and leadership of our party, APC have good intention in every zoning the leadership slots of the 10th National Assembly as every zone will have something to take home. That I can assure you. I know the party will not abandon any region, any zone for whatever reason.
On his popularity among members of the House, Dr. Abass noted that; “What makes them think that I am weak? The fact that you don’t come out to insult anybody? The fact that you are a team player; you play along with everyone, you live along with everyone in the House? You don’t have enemies, you have only friends.
The fact that you contribute more than any other member in the 9th Assembly? That you are qualified based on public and private sectors experience? Does that make me weak or unpopular?”.
~YEMI AKINTOMIDE, a journalist and public affairs analyst wrote from Ireakari Estate, Orita-Obele, Akure