Intense lobby for juicy committees by lawmakers has forced Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki and the Speaker House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara to leave the country for the United Kingdom.
It was gathered that Saraki who left the country was joined by Dogara and the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu on Tuesday.
Saraki is the chairman of the selection committee and Ekweremadu is his deputy. The committee is responsible for the disbursement of specific committees to senators.
It was further gathered that Saraki has been facing intense pressure from senators on the committees allocation.
Our correspondent reports that last week, the deadline given to senators to indicate the committee of their elapsed.
The selection committee had given forms to senators to indicate their choices of committee.
It was gathered that Saraki is trying to use juicy committees to placate the aggrieved Ahmad Lawan’s camp.
Lawan was the preferred candidate of the APC but he was surreptitiously defeated by Saraki after conniving with the PDP senators.
But Saraki and Ekweremadu’s aides said their bosses went on separate missions.
The chairman of the senate adhoc committee on publicity, Dino Melaye did not pick his call when he was contacted for comments on the issue.
Similarly, Saraki and Ekweremadu’s aides declined further comments after confirming that their bosses have travelled abroad.
Our correspondent reports that before proceeding on the six weeks recess, the senators who were inaugurated on June 9, had spent six weeks holidaying.
Since inauguration, the legislators have not debated any bill and they only sat 14 times.
For his part, Dogara, who left Abuja for London Tuesday morning, was said to have gone with some of his loyalists.
A lawmaker told our correspondent that Dogara was to attend an event in London, but added that it was only an excuse as the speaker would use the period of his stay in London to appoint chairmen of various House committee before returning.
The source said Dogara had to move to London to avoid pressure from different quarters both at home and in the office.
“Lawmakers always besiege their houses and offices here in Nigeria, so I think that’s why they left the country. But it’s normal for people who want some favour to follow them wherever they go. Let me tell you, Dogara is a good student of (former speaker Aminu Waziri) Tambuwal. So, they’re used to meeting outside Nigeria,” said the source.
But another source said the London trip was beyond just constituting committees as former Speaker and Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is also there with them.
“For all of them to be in London at the same time, it means there is something. I don’t think it’s a mere coincidence, but let’s wait and see whatever it is they’re planning. It may be to strengthen their political alliance,” a source, who is familiar with the matter, said.
It was gathered that after Dogara left Tuesday, some members of the House who are interested in occupying some key committees’ chairmanship had begun trailing him.
A source told Daily Trust in Abuja yesterday that “some members are rushing to obtain London tickets in order to trail the speaker for committees.”
When contacted, Dogara’s spokesperson Turaki Hassan said he was not aware of the speaker’s trip to London.
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