Teddy Oscar, Abuja
The 7th House of Representatives resumed sitting on Wednesday, after a week-long off from oversight functions of the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to resonated beats of division in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), following members of the Alhaji Kawu Baraje-led faction’s protest against an advertorial that was placed in some national dailies to congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan on the occasion of the nation’s 53rd independence anniversary.
No less that 140 members of the PDP lawmakers had sponsored a coloured advert in some national newspapers congratulating the president on Tuesday, October 1.
But the undersigned lawmakers on the advert were alleged to have received $25,000 bribe each to destabilise the House.
Rising under matters of privilege at the post October 1 plenary, Hon. Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo (a member of the New PDP) complained that his name was included amongst the 140 names that signed the advertorial without his consent.
Onawo, who alleged that the advert was a ploy to divide the House, noted that only 140 out of the 208 PDP members were listed.
He added that there were insinuations that each of those listed as congratulating the president had been paid $25,000.
In his ruling, the speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, appealed to members to always consult their colleagues before putting their names on advert and other publications.
Briefing the media after the session, Hon. Onawo, who was accompanied by the caucus leader of the New PDP in the House, Hon. Andrew Uchendu, explained that about 22 of them were included on the advertorial without their consent and that was why he raised an objection.
“As at the beginning of today’s sitting, we were about 22 complaining together but because I was the most aggrieved, I moved the point of order on the floor. My grouse was that my name featured in the publication without my consent. If we were to congratulate the president, we should have done it as a house. We are 208 PDP members in the House but only 140 signed the congratulatory message. It means a group of people are trying to divide the House,” Onawo said.
Onawo, who at one time had served as the speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly for two terms of four years each, insisted that the stories the stories making the rounds were that members were actually given $25,000.
Although he could not confirm that $25,000 was given to the members, Onawo, who was surprised that his name was in the list, however, denied collecting anything.
In his contribution, Uchendu, who observed that the speaker had before now enjoined all factions to sheathe their swords in the interest of peace and unity of the nation, wondered why some members of the party would go ahead to sponsor a paid advert for the president without the knowledge of the entire House.
He described the action of those, who placed the adverts as an attempt to create the impression that they were more loyal to the President than others.
“Mr. Speaker had advised us that we should maintain peace and cohesion in the interest of the nation. So why would few persons go to the press and put in names of PDP members whom they consulted and those they did not consult. They want to give the impression that they are loyal to the president. Mr. president is my man, too, and I’m loyal to him,” he said.
