Femi Gbajabiamila, the Majority Leader in the House of Representative, has said that the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara; and his deputy, Yusuf Lasun, did not brief the House on the true state of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s health after their visit to London, because there was no such resolution in the House mandating them to embark on the trip.
Daily Post reports that he gave the explanation in Abuja while addressing the media over the visit of some principal officers of the National Assembly to the President.
Gbajabiamila said that although the Speaker and his Deputy could not report on Buhari’s health during plenary, they, however, briefed members individually and in smaller caucuses.
I believe the briefing has been done individually and collectively through zonal briefings but not on the floor of the House of Representatives.
“You must understand one thing. I’m not sure that they went officially on behalf of the House because there was no such resolution in the House. So, they went in their personal capacities out of concern and not in their official capacities as presiding officers.
“So, is there an obligation to now come and brief the whole House collectively? If there was no official mandate or resolution for them to go then it becomes neither here nor there. I may decide to try and see the Buhari in my personal capacity. It does not mean I will go and comeback and brief the whole House. I will only brief people who ask me.
“The way we work in the House of Representatives is that you can call a caucus of the House of Representatives in smaller groups and it becomes official. But it is always better to do something one time and it makes it more official on the floor where you have the mace that gives it that officialdom.
“To the extent that you call a caucus, it may not be official but you basically reported your findings that is not to say it would have been better to have brief us in plenary.
“The points to be made are that they saw Mr. President, he looked good; he talked good; he was well. They went even beyond official. They said it to the whole world. The speaker even tweeted it. He said it in the paper. That is even more than official, because he said it to the whole world and put his credibility on the line. That’s why I believe him,” he stated.
