Posted by By JAMES OJO, Abuja on
The age long unwritten tradition of ranking in legislatives houses worldwide was adopted by the House of Representatives as it resumed sitting on Tuesday, cognate members took the front rows, while new members were consigned to the back rows.
The age long unwritten tradition of ranking in legislatives houses worldwide was adopted by the House of Representatives as it resumed sitting on Tuesday, cognate members took the front rows, while new members were consigned to the back rows.
The sitting arrangement contradicted the pervious in which seats were allocated to members on alphabetical order, behind the rows occupied by the principal officers of the House and the minority parties.
New members, however, feared that with the adoption of the ranking order, they might not get selected as chairman of A-List committees, although, that was dismissed by the office of the Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh.
Reinforcing the fear of the new members was the rejection of a motion by the former speaker of Benue State House of Assembly, Hon. Solomon Jime that the sales of the nation's refineries by the Obasanjo's administration be probed to situate it in the realm of the laws passed by the National Assembly.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Action Congress (AC) member from Lagos State and House Minority Whip, equally castigated the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) on the recent increase hike of fuel price without following the due process, which led to the nationwide strike by labour.
Supporting Gbajabiamila, Hon. Abike Dabiri, another AC member from Lagos State called for the amendment of the PPPRA Act and removal of those clauses that gave them power to fix price without recourse to the National Assembly.
The motion which led to House into taking the decision was raised by Honourable Abubakar Garba Shehu Matazu and nine others, in reaction to the recent NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) industrial action vis-à-vis the on-going Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.
The House, however, commended President Umar Musa Yar'Adua, leadership of the National Assembly, the Federal Government negotiating team, the Labour leaders and other distinguished Nigerians, who played prominent roles in ending the industrial action, while urging the Federal Government to employ prompt measures that would lead to an early resolution of future disagreements.
Leader of opposition, Hon. Mohammed Ali Udume had consigned the motion to the dustbin, saying that it was belated since Nigerians were made to undergo four days of agonizing experience as a result of an avoidable strike had the Yar'Adua government was proactive.
Welcoming members to a session of serious business, Speaker Etteh reminded members of the challenges of constant interaction with their constituencies to aggregate their views and opinions on national issues before speaking on their behalf on the floor of the House.
'The feelings and aspirations of the citizens of Nigeria must be reflected in our debates and deliberations. We must be proactive in initiating bills, instead of waiting on the Executive to do this. For our oversight functions, we must redouble our efforts in ensuring that budgetary targets are met and laws are faithfully implemented," she admonished members.