HON. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, RT. HON. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA VISITS HIS BOSS ASIWAJU TINUBU

Speaker & Asiwaju 

The speaker genuflecting slightly in respect 

After that slamdunk of a victory, which swept a new helmsman on board. The new speaker of the Federal House of Representatives of Nigeria and by that we mean the speaker of the 9th Assembly Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila not wanting to act as prodigal son, especially one who is not unappreciative of the implicit support he got from his party leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, paid him a visit after the election that made him the speaker, maybe just to say a heartfelt thank you.

With the many shenanigans that had heralded that election many had expected far more than what happened on the D-day. Many observers had thought that the election was going to be far more difficult and more keenly contested. But at the end of the day it was more like an annihilation, a somewhat walkover in fact a pulverization, with the now speaker polling in excess of 200 votes, that's 281 votes to be more precise out of 358 possible votes, more than tripling the votes-76 that his opponent Hon. Bago polled.

So now after the whole election thing has been won and lost, it's now the time to show gratitude and appreciation to those, most especially those that were like rock of Gibraltar, unflinching rock of support behind his candidacy and his annihilating victory.

In the pictures above, you would notice via the body language of the Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Femi GBAJABIAMILA that he respects the Asiwaju with his whole being. It is obvious that Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila is a loyal party man to the core. With the emergence of Femi Gbajabiamila as the 4th man in the hierarchy of Governance in Nigeria, it just points to the fact that Lagos, has never had it this good before in the scheme of things. Now we have direct associates of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu occupying the positions of the Vice President, which means the no 2 man in the nation and also now nos 4 as the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives. This is while ministers and special advisers and other posts are still waiting to be filled!!!! There's still the major likelihood that Babatunde Raji Fashola, the erstwhile most powerful minister of many portfolios would make a comeback. Also, people are of the opinion that the recently outgone Lagos State Chief Executive, Ex-Governor Akinwunmi Ambode also may be coming back as either a Minister or an Ambassador or just another prominent post.

Either one likes it or not, what all these just points to, is that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu the former 2 terms Governor of Lagos, a former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and current major chieftain of the ruling party the APC, is a major power influencer and to dismiss him as a non-factor is to do so at one's peril. 

THE D-DAY IS FINALLY HERE AS NASS ELECTS PRINCIPAL OFFICERS FOR THE 9TH ASSEMBLY.

Ndume vs Lawan

Hon. Femi GBAJABIAMILA 

This is what is called the day of reckoning. The day that at the end, some would celebrate, while others would agonize over their loss or decimation. For some their electoral values would soar, whilst for the others they would be brought down to ground zero, all they had thought they had would be laid bare before them as others would determine their fates.

Today, Tuesday, June 11, 2019 just a day to the newly endorsed Nigerian democracy day June 12, the day that commemorates what is said to have marked the freest and fairest election ever held in the history of Nigeria, as symbolized by the late Aare Ona Kakanfo, Bashorun MKO Abiola of blessed memory, is when the Nigerian National House of Assembly, would gather to elect their own principal officers to guide them for the next 4 years, God willing. It would be a case of first amongst equals.

A few of those posts that officers would be elected for are, the offices of the Senate President of the Federation & his Deputy, the Speaker of the house of assembly and his Deputy, and other officers and other offices like majority and minority leaders. But the most important ones are the 1st 4 mentioned above. Not only are those offices quite lucrative financially, but the holders of those revered offices immediately becomes the 3rd and 4th in hierarchy of power and influence in the country the minute they get elected.

The ruling party the APC who normally should have had a field day picking those officers to man those important offices just because of the majority they are supposed to have, have not been able to have an outright say, just because they have not succeeded in having a peaceful house. For the APC it's already a divided home and like it is rightly said, "a house divided against itself cannot stand". It's obvious that the APC house is already doing her best to fight all the very obvious signs of disintegration. By their antics they have served into the hands of their enemies, the opposition made up majorly of those that had disgruntly left their party back to the PDP.

With this election today, it is PDP's own way of getting back their own pound of flesh with the obvious connivance of some members of the APC, who the more staunch or loyal APC members, considers desperate politicians. The arch enemies of the APC, are clandestinely led by the PDP presidential candidate at the last election, in the person of his excellency, the former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is still hell bent on claiming what he claims to be his electoral victory that was illegally snatched from him. Others in the same camp are the likes of the former and most recent senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki who with the former speaker, Hon. Dogara had led a sort of coup against their own party's preferred choices in 2015 to emerge as both the senate president and the speaker of the house. Though Dogara was fortunately able to return as an opposition member of the House of Representatives, his main man, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki was unfortunately trounced at the elections and couldn't return back to the house of assembly. Even as he is not in the house, he still has his many men in the house to do his bidding, led especially by outspoken and highly comedic Senator Dino Melaye, the forner Chairman of the Committee on the FCT.

While the core APC members are supporting the candidacy of majority leader Senator Lawan-North, Senator Omo-Agege-South-South and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila-South-West, the renegade APC members and the PDP, are in full support of Senator Ali Ndume-North, Hon. Umar Mohammed Bago-North. Both Ndume and Bago are incidentally also from the APC, but are seen as turncoats for not following the party's hierarchy dictate.

The election is to be done by a simple majority vote carries the day. So if what the PDP has planned works, it would mean that the whole PDP caucus in the house would vote enmasse for Ndume and Bago, with some members of the APC following suit, by that simple calculation they would have just carried the day. But with the wheeling and dealing expected to have taken place, with the awesome amount of money exchanging hands and also deals brokered to facilitate the winning, it wouldn't be just simple mathematics just like that. Hence everyone is watching to see the outcome at the end of the day.

The other shortfall of the outcome of this election, would be that, the so called powerful men, who could make the impossible things happen through their connect and power to deal, would be known at the end of the day. Just like the paperweights too would be revealed to all, in due course. 

ALL IS FAIR IN WAR AS FEMI GBAJABIAMILA'S ENEMIES FIGHTS DIRTY.

Those who do not like Femi Gbajabiamila's visibility and rise, those who do not like the camp that he belongs to (he is unrepentantly a strong member of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's camp) and who would want their pound of flesh have merged together to fight the one they now see as a common enemy. And in fighting the battle to what they believe is a conclusion, they are willing to use every weapon in their arsenals to achieve their goal. For these people, they have embraced wholeheartedly, the maxim that, "all is fair in war". So whatever is is going to take, is what they are willing to give it.

What is it particularly that is bringing so much attention on the exemplary lawyer and law maker, it's none other than the battle for the position of the speaker (leader) of the Federal House of Representatives, which makes the one that emerges for the post, as the 4th in rank on the power hierarchy in the country.

The speaker of the national assembly of a country, is a massive position of influence and what the norm actually dictates is that, the party that's in the majority in the house, picks the person to occupy that position. What the party in the majority normally does is to pick a consensus candidate from amongst themselves, who they would all vote for to become the speaker, but with the APC which is the ruling party, it has been a party in chaos and disarray. So a house divided against itself cannot stand. So if care is not taken, they might just lose out all over again. Like in the 8th assembly.

With so many from the same party laying claim to the post, it hasn't been as straightforward as the party would have loved it. So with the in-fighting in the party getting more intense by the day, making them not to stand as one, it has allowed the opposition to plant seeds of discord to further pull them apart. And that opposition scheming powerfully and might actually spring a surprise.

Part of what they have used to their advantage so far is to bring to question the integrity of the major front runner for position from the APC in the person of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.

First was the question of his abroad based daughter, who is a supposed model, whose unrestrained lifestyle they have called into question and then now is this campaign of calumny that is fast gaining grounds that he was a convicted felon in the US in 2007 where he was formerly based. So the idea is basically that how can a former criminal or felon aspire to such a sensitive position as that of the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives of Nigeria.

In fact there's even a court case - FHC/ABJ/CS/539/2019, was specifically instituted already by a Phillip Undie. The plaintiff, Mr Philip Undie, who identified himself as a taxpayer, in a 25-paragraph affidavit, told the court that he has evidence that the 1st defendant was convicted by the Supreme Court of Georgia in 2007.

Consequently, he as asked the court to determine “whether upon the construction of section 66 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, vis-à-vis the judgement of the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, Atlanta, USA, in suit No. SO6YO829 in the matter of Femi Gbaja, the 1st defendant is the fit and proper person to be elected to the House of Representatives and/or to the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”

To Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila's detractors, It is like one's past catching up on one.

So would this people, these enemies of progress succeed in their dastardly schemes? It is left to be seen as the countdown to the election in June of 2019 gets near.

HAS PMB FINALLY MADE HIS CHOICE FOR SENATE PRESIDENT PUBLIC? WOULD IT BE SENATOR AHMAD LAWAN FOR THE SENATE & HON. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA FOR THE SPEAKER SHIP?

Senator Ahmad Lawan

Hon. Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila 

The ruling party are doing all they can to prevent thunder from striking twice at the National Assembly over the choice of leadership for the next session of the house, at both the upper and the lower houses.

The sting of the manuevres, which some have likened to a coup that had installed the outgoing leadership of both Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara wouldn't be forgotten in a hurry and most likely can never ever be forgotten. In 2015 while the APC was still dragging their feet thinking they had all the time in the world to pick and install their anoited as leaders of the Houses, members of their own party led by wily Senator Saraki and Hon. Dogara like thieves in the night, with the active connivance of the opposition party, gave everyone a rude shock, that nearly gave many heart attacks, when those not slated to lead the house were voted in as leaders of the assembly and from that moment onward the schism that nearly tore the party and the NASS apart began.

Much as the APC on the other side, tried to scheme out, the APC that operated the so called coup in connivance with the PDP, they met a super smart opponent(s), who embarrassed them at each move and turn,  and in fact outsmarted them all the way. So now to avoid falling in to the same pit twice, they seem to have resolved to make hay, while the sun is still shining properly.

The leadership of the APC led by the Chairman of the party in the person of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, former Governor of Edo State met with the APC house of assembly elects only yesterday and advised that all the leadership positions available in the houses must be filled by members of the party alone except for the ones that the opposition should occupy by right. He especially emphasized that those to be elected also must be loyal party members alone. For the Federal House of Representatives, it seems that the preferred candidate, in fact the anointed one for the Speakership position again is the brilliant lawyer and lawmaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who is the current house majority leader of the outgoing lower house. For the post of who would become the 3rd most powerful man in the country, it seems like everything is again pointing at the same man, that the party had proposed to make the Senate President in 2015, in the person of distinguished gentleman Senator Ahmad LAWAN. But he would have a battle at hand as he must contend with a fellow party man, Senator Ali Ndume.

Senator Ahmad Lawan himself has finally come out to show interest in occupying the post and to lead the 9th session of the National Assembly starting from June 2019. For Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, he has never hidden the fact that he wants to lead the House of Representatives as her speaker. He had thought he was coasting home to victory in 2015, only to be blindsided and beaten by an 8 votes margin the last time, when Hon. Yakubu Dogara and cohorts outsmarted him winning by 182 to 174  votes.

Though the Chairman of the APC at a meeting with all the APC elected Assembly members yesterday, Monday, March 25, 2019 had come out to show his personal support for Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe, that endorsement by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole might not have gone well with everyone, especially another Senator, in the person of distinguished Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, who has come out to kick against Oshiomhole's endorsement of the former. Senator Ali Ndume is in fact a fellow member of the ruling party the APC from Borno. The APC have the numerical advantage in both HOUSES on the coming 9th Assembly and want to use the advantage well. Senator Ali Ndume was the former House Majority Leader whom Ahmad Lawan took over from after he was suspended at upper house for 6 months and was removed as Majority leader. He would be 59 come November 20, 2019. He had his OND & HND from Kaduna Poly in 1980 & 82 respectively. He got his B.Ed & M.Ed from the University of Toledo Ohio in 1990, Magna Cum Laude. He has been at the National Assembly for 16 years now, since 2003 as a member of the House of representatives then as a Senator since 2011. So he has the requisite experience needed too. He was formerly of the ANPP then the PDP & now the APC.  From the ensuing scenario, the ruling party had better handle their situation well or they might just allow the same situation that messed them up in 2015 to rear up its ugly head all over again. A house already divided against itself like they say, cannot stand the wiles, schemes, trickery and moves of an opposition/enemy that is very smart too but with its back already to the wall. So they are desperate and wouldn't mind to scatter everything. In fact they can even begin to preach that the House of Assembly is not about party affiliations, but about men and woman who can pick whomsoever they want as leaders.

Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, 60, was born January 12, 1959. He is currently the Senate majority leader and an APC Member from Yobe North in Yobe State. He has been a member of the National Assembly since 1999 till date, that's 20 years straight. He is a graduate of the University of Maiduguri, Borno State with a B.Sc in Geography 1984, he has a Masters in Remote Sensing from the ABU, Zaria 1990, then he also has a Doctorate in Remote Sensing from Cranfield University, UK 1996. He moved from the House of representatives to the Upper house.

For Hon. Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila, 56, he was born June 25, 1962 so would be 57 come this June just around the time the 9th Assembly would commence. This would be his 5th term in the House, where he has done exemplarily and commendably well. He has represented his Surulere 1 Federal Constituency super well and by extension his party. The trained lawyer, who owns law chambers in both Nigeria and America has had a great 2 decades of experience in the House, where at a point he sponsored the highest number of bills by any legislator. He is always a delight a hear. Were he to become the Speaker of the 9th house, then the House would he the good for it.

LIKE KEMI ADEOSUN LIKE RAZAK ATUNWA. THE UNRAVELLING OF A FORGED/FAKE NYSC CERTIFICATE

Rt. Hon. Razak Atunwa

Since the eminently qualified former Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun was hounded out of her exemplary service to fatherland on the case of presenting a dud or forged or fake NYSC discharge certificate and in order to get the unrelenting and unforgiving attack dogs off her back so she could have peace, she had to honourably resign, another person now in the eye of the storm for the same exact case is the former speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, who also held many positions in the past administration that had ruled the state, who is also the PDP Gubernatorial flag bearer for the next election, in the person of Hon. Razak ATUNWA.

Atunwa a top lawyer, who schooled abroad, in the UK to be more exact and who was called to the bar also in London and who had worked as a Cab driver in the UK before he came back to Nigeria and fortune smiled on graciously courtesy of the late Dr. Olusola Saraki, has been found not to have served his fatherland by undergoing the compulsory and stipulated one year service to the nation and to circumvent the process, he had gone on to obtain fake discharge certificate which he deliberately provided to his party to allow him to be eligible for public office.

Just the very same way that Premium Times investigated the former Minister of Finance. KEMI ADEOSUN who having schooled all her life in the UK and had lived most of her life in the UK also and had passed the eligible age for service by the time she was called to serve her fatherland, but in order to do the right thing was swindled and given a fake certificate and  was outed later, same way the same Premium Times have investigated Hon. Razak Atunwa, the PDP Gubernatorial aspirant/candidate and he has been found wanting too.

So as a lawyer, who has reputation  We are of the thought and sincerely advocate that he must either step down or be disqualified! Our premise on that is based on the fact that, whatsoever is the sauce of goose, should also be the sauce of the gander too! You cannot hound one to resign for a genuine mistake, while turning the face when it came to another!!!

For deliberately obtaining fake papers to advance your career is tantamount to fraud!!! Razak Atunwa according to his record was born in 1969, this same October the 17th of 1969 to be more precise. The records now said he finished at the University of East London where he got his law degree in 1992 at age 23. A year after he got his Masters at age 24. By law it meant he was eligible for service!

So even if he lived abroad for so long and he later came home after hitting 30, why the need to obtain a fake certificate? 

KWARA STATE GEARS UP FOR A MASSIVE BATTLE COME 2019 GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION.

Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq

Hon. Razak Atunwa

Prince Ayorinde Adedoyin 

Wow wow wow. While the election in Lagos is seen as a big battle between the APC's own Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu and PDP's own Jimi 'JK' Agbaje. Oyo's battle would be between APC's former CBN deputy Governor and PDP's own Seyi Makinde, the battle in Kwara is three pronged and it promises to be epic by all accounts as the 3 aspirants representing the 3 most visible political parties in the state are heavy, heavyweights by all accounts. Not only are they very visible, the trio are also moneybags by any account you'll want to judge it by.

On the side of the APC, you have the one and only Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, a billionaire businessman oil magnate now turned politician. He at the last election gave the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki a major scare at the Kwara Central Senatorial election. And there's no love lost between the 2. When Saraki jumped ship to the APC back then, Abdulrasaq immediately moved out of APC & moved over to the PDP. Just as soon as Saraki again jumped ship to the PDP from the APC, Abdulrasaq immediately dusted himself again and moved out of the PDP back to the APC with about 120000 supporters.  The 50 plus year old moneybag, with major investments in oil and gas and others, is the founder of First Fuels and is not a neophyte at all in the political terrain of Kwara State. He would love to have one over Saraki at all cost, as he believed that he won against him the last time.

To become the flag bearer of the APC in Kwara State, the very intelligent businessman, sports enthusiast cum politician dusted all other contenders by polling 29098 votes against Alhaji Yammah Abdullahi who came 2nd and polled 22116 votes. AA as he is referred to by a lot of people has the resources and wherewithal in abundance (a moneybag per excellence) to prosecute his ambition to a favourable conclusion. His younger sister is the popular Senator Khairat Abdulrazaq Gwadabe. What he has going for him apart from age, he his just 58, is that he has a proven wealth of experience in the private sector in creating wealth. His business forays has him having investments as far as Cote D'ivoire. He is the founder and sponsor of Abuja FC. From our findings, there's an unprecedented groundswell of ever rising support for him to win the election. In fact the elite and others prefer him far above every other aspirant for the job.

Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, is one of the well to do kids of the first ever lawyer from Northern Nigeria. His dad Alhaji A.G.F Abdulrazaq a renowned jurist was also a prominent Minister in the 1st Republic.

In the race to the Ahmadu Bello Way Governor's office also is another very formidable personality by name Hon. Razak Atunwa. A super intelligent lawyer and Lawmaker, who since he returned to Nigeria and Kwara State has been very much involved in Governance as it concerns politics in Kwara State. His bio for a 48 year old is quite staggering and impressive.

He knows his beloved Kwara State inside and out as he has been part of the Governance in the state for quite a bit, which is a major plus for him. He was a commissioner over many different portfolios-finance, land and housing, information, works & transportation, in Kwara State from 2005 till 2011, that's all of 7 years, before he was elected into the State House of Assembly KWHA where he went on to become the speaker of the house from 2011 till 2015, for 5 years after which when he ran for the House of Representative and won to represent Asa/Ilorin West at the House (so that's at least 15 years experience in Governance). It is from the lower House now that he contested the Governorship Primary of the PDP which he won to represent the Party now at the next election.

He is a very strong ally of Dr. Bukola Saraki under who he was the Commissioner. He had got his law degree both LLB and LLM in London and was called to the bar also on London too. In fact according to the gist he was brought back from London by the late Dr Olusola Saraki, where at a point he was said to have been cab driver to help fund his education. There's the little controversy though about where he is from in Ilorin, for no one has ever been able to pinpoint his supposed family house in Ilorin. His strong connect with the Saraki political family may either be positive or negative for him in the long run.

The last but not the least personality by no means is none other than the 'Prince of Agbamu' himself, "Prince Ayorinde Adedoyin". Prince Ayorinde has thought to tread a totally different path to achieve his aim. He would be riding on the back of the Accord Party towards the goal. But to talk about this quintessential good dude and Philanthropist per excellence, we would first talk about his father, the super wealthy industrialist, Sir Samuel Adedoyin of the Doyin Groups Fame. The old man's story is the stuff dreams are made of. The old man now in his 80s rose from grass, the very last rung by the dint of hard work and providence to grace. He owns a vast conglomerate that includes industries and vast property portfolio and other investments. Ayorinde Adedoyin is his 1st son and the highly connected young man by every standard, is not a pushover at all too by any means.

By the grace of God, the man in his early 50s whose late elder sister was a former Health Minister and a Lawmaker, that's Hon. Funke Adedoyin till she recently passed on, has really done extremely well for himself too in business. Not one to sit on his oars, believing that wealth has already been made and then all he needs to do, is to run his father's vast business and that's it. But as soon as he finished school he immediately branched out and began to chart his own path immediately, by setting up his own firms which are variously into maritime, oil and gas, logistics, aviation, real estate and hospitality, all under the umbrella of a holding company Peacegate Group. Peace Gate group is a successful multifaceted company by all standards. He has going for him, very excellent private sector experience.

His passion for Kwara State is enveloping. The Prince of Agbamu believes so much that not even a quarter of the endowment of his beloved Kwara have been exploited. And like he preaches at every turn, that his ambition is not a do or die one, just that he wants to serve his beloved state to the best of his abilities. He has come in as a new star, not on the old beaten track of the APC or PDP, but as a real alternative from the Accord Party!!!

So from the looks of things, this would be a 3-pronged battle ROYALE, a major slamdunk 2019 event!!!!! Who would carry the day eventually! !!