Contrary to the speculations that the 9th House of Representatives under the leadership of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila would be a rubber stamp parliament, because of his affinity with the executive, Hon. Benjamin Kalu representing Bende Federal Constituency says the House will maintain its independence and not be an appendage of the executive.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Igbere TV in Abuja, Hon. Kalu said there would be a reform in the 9th House, insisting that the parliament would be a watchdog and not an appendage of the executive.
“No, certainly not. It is not a rubber-stamp; the parliament is not a rubber-stamp. Everybody was voted in independently and through free, fair and transparent elections.”
He said the Office of the Speaker would be held in trust for Nigerians, adding that any decision taken at anytime would be in the best interest of the country.
According to Benjamin Kalu, the 9th National Assembly will work collaboratively with the executive, “which is what it ought to be and not the unnecessary clash of pride that characterized the 8th Assembly. ”
Against the medieval belief that the National Assembly is supposed to be a viable opposition to the executive, the lawmaker said the two organs of government are supposed to work together without necessarily interfering in one another’s business but to only check and see if either of them is taking steps that are ultra vires, adding, “this is exactly what the Gbajabiamila led 9th green chamber is going to be doing.”
“In as much as the 9th National Assembly is expected to be independent and not be a rubber stamp, we will ensure we work interdependently with the executive in order to aid a seamless administration that will execute projects that are beneficial to Nigerians. It is to the benefit of Nigerians if the legislature and executive work interdependently to ensure that things work. After all, who has the loggerheads of the National Assembly and the executive benefited?.”
His words, “Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila that I know is a man of his own repute. He is a man who has a mind of his own. I don’t follow people who are pushovers. I don’t give my loyalty to those without strength of character, Gbajabiamila does.
“Yes, he has a leader just like myself, I have a leader. In fact I have leaders but there is one that is like a mentor to me. Every big person in politics has a leader. Even if I become a governor tomorrow I will still respect my leader. It doesn’t mean that when my leader tells me to jump all the time, I will ask “how high”?. My leader sometimes engages me in a very tough debate and if the strength of my opinion is stronger than his, he will drop his. Those are the kind of people I follow. Everybody knows who my leader is. We argue, we debate issues but he doesn’t force anything down my throat. He might be watching this and ask you “what is your opinion on this”? If you say “I don’t want to tell you”, he will say “No. Talk, I want you to say something on this”. When you canvass your opinion and is stronger than his own, he will drop his. And that is the kind of leadership that his (Gbajabiamila’s) leader provides. He is not going to force anything down his throat, even if he tries to do that I know Gbaja will say “No, this is not right.” And I am sure that whoever that he’s loyal to as a leader will also listen to a strong opinion.
“He is not going to be a rubber stamp like people are saying. He believes in independent of the legislature, yes he believes in that. He also want us to see the benefits of interdependence between the arms of government. We are not in government to fight for goodness sake. I don’t know why Nigerians believe that once you are a member of the legislature you should wear your gloves and your first target should be the executive. I totally disagree with that. Yes, we will do the watchdog but a dog doesn’t bite who is not an enemy except the dog is a mad dog. We are doing a watchdog function here, so we watch when a signal is bad, we try to block it. If we see excessive action by the executive, we correct it. That is what the principle of separation of power is all about. You don’t fight the executive, when you do that you truncate the government. You are part of the government so if the government doesn’t move forward, your joint task project will be ended there.
“So we are following a leader that is going to look into their eyes and tell the executive “this is not right, we should do it this way.” But you don’t expect him to come and do it in a very disgraceful manner where the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be insulted. We don’t subscribe to that. The joint task force for national development, which I belong to as a movement, we don’t subscribe to insulting the leaders in a political system just to make a point. There are various angles to solve a disagreement and move forward. And these are the model we are going to be involving without making so much noise. For goodness sake, the party in power in the executive is the party in power for the legislature which means if we are under the same umbrella, we can resolve the differences in-house as a party without trying to show how tough we are in the eyes of Nigerians.
“Nigerians are not looking for those who are tough legislators, they are looking for those who are able to provide the dividends of democracy as expected in every developed or developing climes. And that is what we are going to project. There is no rubber stamping anywhere. There is not even any single rubber that will be used as stamp in the House of Representatives. We are quality men, men of integrity, men who have seen life. Men who have achieved a lot and ready to combine their experiences to push the country to the next level. Nobody, no single soul in the House of Representatives is capable of being used as a rubber. Gbaja will not be.”
