Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker, House of Representatives, on Tuesday lamented the failure of many members of the 9th House to secure return tickets in their various parties for the 2023 general elections, describing the development as “a big in Nigeria.”
Gbajabiamila stated this while addressing his colleagues on the resumption of the House from its break to allow members participate in their party primaries.
He said the losses suffered by members were not because they were rejected by their constituents, but because of the process which the lawmakers foresaw and tried to remedy through the Electoral Act.
According to the speaker, many members of the House across political party lines lost their primaries because they were not even given a fair shot, saying, “When we fought for direct primaries in this House, we knew exactly what we were saying.”
He said, “It is essential to the practice of democracy that elected representatives must, at intervals, return to the electorate to give account of our service and seek a renewal of our mandate to serve.
This periodic renewal of the mandate gives democratic government legitimacy. “It allows us to act in the name of the people who elected us.
And it ensures that we conduct our selves in office knowing that we will give an account of our decisions and the priorities we chose to pursue in due time.
“The past two months have been dominated by political pursuits across the country as political parties carry out various activities to nominate their candidates for the forthcoming general elections.
All of us, members of the House of Representatives, have not been exempt from this process.
“Unfortunately, as is always the case in electoral contests, some of us who sought the nomination of our parties to return to the legislature have not gotten it.
Others who sought nomination to contest other positions have also fallen short in that quest.
“It is rather unfortunate that the process went the way it went. I make bold to say here that the legislature has once again suffered losses.
The loss really is not for members who lost, it is a loss to democracy, to the institution and to the country.
“If it means anything, I know and I am aware that many of our members did not lose their primaries because they were rejected by their constituents.
Many of our members lost because of the process, the process which we foresaw in the House of Representatives.
The delegate system which unfortunately is not what a delegate system is supposed to be.
“Many of our members lost because they were not even given a fair shot.
We have good legislators, both here in the chambers and back home, who are probably not coming back because of this same process.
When we fought for direct primaries in this House, we knew exactly what we were saying.
“It pains me very deeply, that the process has gone the way it has gone. We will continue to push and continue to fight for our members, for democracy, for the institution and this country”.
The speaker told his colleagues that they are not defined by the outcome of any election at any one time, saying, “What defines us before God and our fellow men is what we do in the time we have in public office and on earth.
“We are judged on earth and after by the work of our hands, quality of our service, the content of our character and passion of our convictions.
These are the things that matter most and will count in the fullness of time.
“Therefore, I enjoin you all to set aside your feelings about recent electoral experiences to focus on serving the mandate we still have.
Whereas in the past, the start of the electoral calendar marked the end of governance as a priority, that will not be the case in this 9th Assembly.
“Our term in office does not end till next year. Until the moment it does, until the last minute of the final hour, we will do the people’s work and serve their interests.
That is theoathwes wore and the commitment we will live up to, come what may”.
He reminded them that “the Electoral Act 2022 may well be among the most significant legislation passed in this 9th Assembly.
We have already begun to witness the implementation of this new legislation and draw lessons that will guide future reform efforts.
“It is necessary to note that the process by which the Electoral Act became law has highlighted valuable lessons we will do well to take cognisance of.
These lessons should inform and motivate us to improve the National Assembly’s lawmaking process.”
