Ahead today’s final plenary by the House Representatives, controversial lawmaker and Director General of the Femi Gbajabiamila Campaign for Speaker, House of Representatives, Abdul mumin Jubril has been unrelenting in his quest to install his protégé as successor to Yakubu Dogara.
On Tuesday, Jubrin sweated profusely to defend Gbajabiamila even as allegation that he was a convict in the United States of America mounted.
The Source was informed by sources in the house that some opposition lawmakers are planning to demand that Gbajabiamila step down from contesting when they resume on Tuesday to elect their Speaker on the basis that he’s an ex-convict.
Gbajabiamila is the leader of the House and frontline candidate for the House of Representatives Speaker after he had been endorsed by his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC and President Muhammadu Buhari for the position.
He’s in the same contest with another APC member from Niger state, Mohammed Bago whose chances seem to have been brightened in the last few days ahead the 9th Assembly Swearing in on June 10.
The campaign of the lawmaker representing Surelere 2 Federal Constituency for the Speakership has recently been plagued with many controversies threatening to rob him of the office for the second time.
An online medium recently published a story claiming that the lawmaker was a convict in the United States of America.
It was reported that Gbajabiamila was convicted of fraud 12 years ago by the State of Georgia Supreme Court.
“On February 26 2007 the highest court in the state of Georgia ordered that Femi Gbaja with state bar number 288330 be suspended from the practice of law for 36 months,” after he was found guilty of the charge, Sahara Reporters said in the report.
According to the report “The punishment for Femi Gbaja’s offence would have been outright debarment, however, he played dead before a full panel of the Supreme Court of Georgia led by Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, before the court could rule on the petition from his client, he filed a petition for Voluntary Discipline, filed under bar rule 4-227(b) in which he fully admitted to stealing $25,000 from his client.”
Since the report was made public, Gbajabiamila’s supporters have tried to obliterate its effect on his campaign to occupy the speakership.
On his part, Gbajabiamila a long serving has denied ever being a convict.
Same with Jibrin his spokesman who has trenchantly denied the allegation, insisting that some people opposed to Gbajabiamila’s quest to become Speaker were responsible for the report.
But close watchers of events in Nigeria’s lower house told the magazine that the revelation is already having a toll on his campaign.
“Before the revelation, APC lawmakers in the house were already divided on who to vote for next Tuesday. They have two choices, either him or Bago. But the revelations has further done serious damage to Gbajabiamila’s campaign considering that the election will hold in few days,” one lawmaker from Kano told the magazine.
Another lawmaker from Niger state told the magazine that “things are working out as expected for Bago who’s running on the ground of equity. How can you have the Vice President from the South West and the Speaker from the same region.
We are happy that our candidate has gathered more momentum in the last few days and we are very sure he will become Speaker in sha Allah by next week,” the lawmaker said.
Victor Ogene, a former vice chairman, House Committee on Communications and spokesman for Bago Campaign has also stated that his principal stood a good chance of emerging Speaker against his main rival.
But staunch supporters of the lawmaker from Lagos said what’s currently going on is distraction that not capable enough to stop his ambition.
“Gbajabiamila’s a moving train that cannot be stopped by enemies of APC. As we speak, he has been endorsed by at least 195 lawmakers across party lines. Femi will be crowned Speaker next week. Wait and see,” the lawmaker from Ekiti state told the magazine on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), has rejected Femi Gbajabiamila as the next speaker of the House of Representative over his alleged conviction by a United States court in Georgia.
Imo Ugochinyere, CUPP spokesman, and 12 other national chairmen of political parties said this on Tuesday while addressing journalists in Abuja.
