Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker, House of Representatives, has recounted how former President Olusegun Obasanjo tried to recruit him for his Third Term agenda.
The speaker recounted his role in the Third Term saga, in a book titled ‘Mr. Speaker: The Legislative Life, Service and Resilience of Femi Gbajabiamila’, recently launched in Abuja to mark his 60th birthday.
According to him, “My best moment as a lawmaker was the death of Third Term; the day it was pronounced dead, because we had sleepless nights. We were meeting; we got a place in Asokoro, hidden somewhere. We would start our meetings sometimes at 11 at night and leave at 4am. I can’t remember how many of us. It was a risk to life.
“So, the day it was pronounced dead was a happy day and a relief for me. I was a free man. Look, I was offered inducement, at that time, by one of the major proponents of Third Term. At this point, I would not mention his name, but he is a major player in this country.
“While they were offering members N50 million, I was offered double, a N100 million at that time, and you know what N100 million was, which, of course, I turned down. I say that for you to understand the pressure; financial, mental and physical pressure.
“We had no other job in the House except Third Term, constitutional amendment. For me, as noble as that work was, the best time was the day it died, not the Third Term itself, but the day it was killed on the floor.”
One of the many revelations in the book, is Gbajabiamila’s account of how Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state betrayed him when he contested for the Speaker of Nigeria’s Lower House in 2015.
Recall that he lost the Speakership to Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi state in that historical election to elect leaders of the National Assembly immediately after the All Progressives Congress, APC unexpectedly swept to power in 2015.
