The leadership crisis unfolding at the Nasarawa State House of Assembly is at best a needless distraction. It is needless because ordinarily, 24 matured individuals shouldn’t have any problem deciding who leads the house.
Indeed, there was obviously no any reason for the ensuing commotion than personal vendetta and contest for raw power. This is clear because even months before that fateful day of the house inauguration, every available step has been taken to by critical stakeholders within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to agree on the speakership position.
As revealed by His Excellency, Engineer Abdullahi Sule when he appeared as a guest on Arise Television Wednesday night, adequate steps were taken as to who will emerge as the Speaker of the 7th Assembly. It wasn’t coercion. It was by mutual consent.
Still, a section of the members-elect saw the need to throw the assembly into a rumpus. Borrowing a leaf from the fiasco led by former senate president, Bukola Saraki, in that ill-fated alliance with the opposition political party during the 8th National Assembly, Hon Ogah Ogazi, member representing Kokona East, led 12 other members-elect, to try to undermine the decision of the APC and all other critical stakeholders.
Hon Ogazi has been a prominent member of the 6th assembly who enjoys tremendous respect from Engineer Sule. Being the true Democrat that he is, Engineer Sule has ensured that the legislature enjoys unfettered freedom to operate and carry out its oversight functions. At a point in time, the House Committee on Education led by Hon Ogazi became almost a torn in the flesh for the administration. Convinced that his hands are clean, Engineer Sule even encouraged Hon Ogazi to even probe further.
It’s not therefore out of place for Hon Ogazi to acknowledge publicly the democratic credentials of His Excellency, Engineer Abdullahi Sule when in a chat with members of the media after parading himself as speaker to describe Engineer Sule as God fearing, fair, honest and accommodating.
The leadership crisis at the assembly is therefore needless and a distraction. Since Engineer Sule, the APC and other major stakeholders have all identified with the leadership of Rt. Hon Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi and preferred him to be the speaker of the 7th Assembly, Hon. Ogazi and the other members of the APC should do the needful by towing in line with this decision.
By colluding with members of the opposition parties to cause confusion at the assembly, Hon Ogazi is throwing away his hard earned reputation and political relevance. Though it’s normal to disagree in politics such however should not amount to throwing away the baby with the bathe water.
It’s needless to emphasize here that the commotion at the assembly is capable of distracting Engineer Sule from delivering good governance to the people. Instead of focusing on the development initiatives of his administration, the Governor will now be forced to commit time and resources towards amicable resolution of the impasse.
It’s on this note that other critical stakeholders in the ruling APC should join hands with the Governor towards resolving this impasse as Nasarawa State could ill afford any form of conflict of interest particularly now that the state is recording remarkable progress in all spheres of development.
Those who see the commotion at the state assembly as a contest for raw power should have a rethink and put the development of the state above any other consideration. We don’t have any other state to call our own.
Luckily, Nasarawa State is blessed with a Governor who is focused and whose only preoccupation is to bring much needed development to the state. The least the people of the state could do is to support him and not to create situations that will distract Engineer Abdullahi Sule.