By Christiana Ekpa
Some Members of the House of Representatives over the weekend gave thumbs up to leadership and members of the 9tg House for the unique way in which they conducted their affairs and the successes recorded as a result.
The lawmakers who are chairmen of very key committees of the House were unanimous in their verdict regarding the performance of the 9th Assembly, crediting same the operational style of the leadership and the watchdog role of the media.
This was at the end of year get together and award ceremony organized by the House of Representatives Press Corps over the weekend in Abuja.
Chairman, House of Committee on Power, Hon. Magaji Da’u Aliyu, who was honoured with an award of the Most Impactful Power Committee Chairman of the House’ attributed the uniqueness and the success of the 9th Assembly to the leadership quality and style of the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.
He expressed delight at the milestone achieved by the 9th House, adding that not for the leadership quality and style of the speaker, the height attained by the House wouldn’t have been possible.
“He said, “I am proud of the 9th National Assembly. I have been around for sometime but the 9th Assembly we think we did a lot of things differently. We worked together. We worked very hard and were able to achieve our set out targets. All these goes to the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, for the kind of leadership he has offered to us.
This 9th Assembly is scandal free and we also wish to commend ourselves for that. I also wish to commend the Press Corps for keeping us on our toes trying to make us do the correct things because if you know that there are people watching you, that would make you do the right thing. we would continue to work together,” he said.
Spokesman of the House, Hon Benjamin Kalu, who also received an award as the Most Outstanding Spokesman of the House, lauded the Press Corps for its effort in strengthening democracy.
He said the Corps has given stability to the image of the National Assembly.
He also said journalists were not getting what they deserved and more should be done to take care of them.
“I appreciate the Press Corps for the stability they have given to the image of the National Assembly. It has not been like this before. Rancour free, acrimony free. There is this integrity in the mind of Nigerians about the NASS. The confidence level has gotten from where it was to where it is at the moment not because of only what we did but also because of how you showcased what we are doing to the Nigerian people. People are beginning to understand that this fulcrum of democracy is actually playing a vital role in the advancement for our democracy.
Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Hon Muktar Aliyu Betara, said the 9th National Assembly’s successes would not have been possible without the efforts of the Press.
Aliyu, who received an award of Excellence as the Champion of Legislative Reform, was represented by Hon Mohammed Kabiru.
Expressing appreciation for the award, he said, “Journalists are considered to be judges of any society. They see it from an eagle eye perspective and give good reportage for people to understand what is going on in the society.
Also the Chairman, House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Hon Sha’aban Ibrahim Sharada urged journalists not to compromise in their profession.
Sharada, a governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for Kano State in the 2023 election also received an award as the Most Impactful Committee Chairman on Intelligence Matters, just as he recalled his journey through the journalism profession before joining politics.
