APC, PDP, share committees as Dogara names Reps’ chairmen OCTOBER 23, 2015 : JOHN AMEH

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara

The
Speaker
of
the
House
of
Representatives,
Mr.
Yakubu
Dogara,
ranked
the
majority
All
Progressives
Congress
and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party neck-to-neck
on Thursday as he named the chairmen of 96 standing
committees of the House.
Dogara, a member of the APC from Bauchi State, announced the
committees on the floor of the House after several weeks of
speculation and more than four months after the inauguration of
the Eight Assembly on June 9.
The APC got 47 of the committees, while the PDP followed
closely with 46 committees, leaving out the balance of four
committees for smaller parties like the Social Democratic Party
and the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
However, the Speaker ensured that his loyalists in both the APC
and the PDP got prime committees, otherwise known as ‘juicy
committees’, in the parlance of the House.
As The PUNCH predicted in an exclusive report on Monday,
Dogara’s key ally from Kano State, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin
(APC) is the new Chairman of the Committee on Appropriation.
Another of his ally from Katsina State, Mr. Babangida Ibrahim
(APC), is the chairman, Committee on Finance.
His allies in the PDP took the two petroleum committees. Mr.
Akinlaja Joseph from Ondo State (PDP), heads the Committee
on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), while Mr. Victor
Nwokolo from Delta State (PDP), is the Chairman, Committee on
Petroleum Resources (Upstream).
The PDP’s Mr. Tobi Okechukwu from Enugu State, heads the
Committee on Works, while another PDP member from Bayelsa
State, is the Chairman, Committee on Gas Resources.
The PDP also heads the Committee on Army, Mr. Rima Shawulu
(Taraba State); Committee Air Force, Mr. Sampson Okwu (Benue
State); and Committee on Aviation, Mrs. Nkiruka Onyejeocha
(Abia State).
However, the Committee on Defence went to a member of the
APC from Borno State, Mr. Murktar Aliyu.
The majority party’s Mr. James Faleke from Lagos State, heads
the Committee on Customs and Excise, while Mr. Abdussamad
Dasuki from Sokoto State, chairs the Committee on Navy.
Another APC member from Kaduna State, Mr. Hassan Shekarau,
heads the Committee on Pensions.
Other key committees headed by the APC are committees on
electoral matters, telecommunications, housing, healthcare
services, interior, water resources, tertiary education services,
land transport, police affairs, population, privatisation and
commercialisation, House services, steel and agricultural
production services.
But, findings indicated that many members, especially from the
South-West, felt that the PDP got better committees than the
APC.
A member, who pleaded not to be named, stated that some APC
members were unhappy.
The source spoke further, “The PDP has many prime
committees, including the committees on power, banking and
currency, drugs/narcotics and capital market.
“The distribution of the committees also did not favour the
South-West APC, as they did not get major committees in the
real sense.
“From the distribution, the key committees that should drive the
agenda of the APC’s government are in the hands of the
opposition.
“During the 7th Assembly, the opposition got only 16
committees and about three key committees.
“This time around, the majority party and the opposition are
almost on tie in terms of the number of committees each side
got.”
Dogara had waited till the House concluded all of its business
on the Order Paper before he announced the committees.
He had tucked the list in the pocket of his flowing gown all day,
reaching for it only seconds before reading out the names amid
a pint-drop silence.
Some members attempted to raise points of order as he ended
the announcement but he simply ignored them and called for the
adjournment of the House till Tuesday next week.