Interview With Philip Shaibu On Nass Leadership And Reforms
Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu is the Member elect Etsako Federal Constituency in Edo State and currently the Majority leader in the Edo State House of Assembly. In this interview, he spoke on the cabal of ranking at the National Assembly. He express his reserve in the power and Banking sector as well as the need to make laws that will ensure a refund to anybody that uses his money to buy transformer for service provider. It is wrong for the Banks to determine when a married woman should be pregnant. Except.
Question:
Being a first timer in the National Assembly, why is it not possible for one to be a speaker or a majority leader?
Answer:
I don’t think any of us coming to the National Assembly for the first time especially those of us who are coming with legislative experience from the state houses of Assembly can be prevented from contesting the speakership position or any election in the National Assembly. A member of the National Assembly drew my attention to one of the rules of the House that for you to be speaker or deputy speaker, you must have legislative experience in the National Assembly. That rule is deceptive. It is not legal. Some of these so called ranking members should be celebrating that people like us are not contesting. 75 to 80 percent of the members are new and if we want to test the will of the parliament to know whether that rule is binding, I am ready to provide leadership to challenge the rule. We will nominate one of our own (new member) and put the number behind that person and that person will become the speaker. I think that law was done by a cabal of the National Assembly that came into power in 1999. They want to remain in power. For Instance if the whole three hundred and sixty members of the house of representative are new, does it mean that the house will not have a speaker? In 1999 majority of them that took over the leadership of the house were not former member of the house so why is the role changing now?
Question: What did the Nigerian constitution said about leadership of the National Assembly ?
Answer:
The 1999 constitution in section 50(1a) he said ‘There shall be a president or deputy president of the senate who shall be elected from among members.’ Membership of the house is the only criteria required to be a speaker of senate president. However, the constitution provide for members to make laws that will govern them. A rule that limit the leadership to ranking is not legal and if it is tested in court the rule will not stand. By the time we are inaugurated the rule have to change. The impeach deputy speaker of the Edo State house of Assembly was a first timer but because of the zoning arrangement adopted by the party he became the deputy speaker.
Question: Are you more qualified than some of the ranking members of the National Assembly?
Answer.
I am very qualify than many of them because many of the members of the National Assembly do not attend seating. In parliament, seating is mandatory. A member must seat for a period not less than 2/3 in the 181 days mandatory in a calendar year. Failure to attain that number, a member seat can be declared vacant. And most of the old members in the National Assembly that are claiming to be ranking members did not attend seating up to the required number of time. So what make them more experience than us in the state houses of Assembly that attend our seating without fail? A ranking member that has never move a motion at the National Assembly cannot be more qualify than me that has move 161 motions and 45 Bills in the Edo State house of Assembly. From this analysis you will agree with me that an effective member of any state house of Assembly will be more active and creative than a ranking member that sleeps in the floor of the National Assembly. Like I said before, The luck that the ranking members are having is that I am not interested in the speakership or else I would have change their political calculation and provide leadership.
Question: What is the impression of your constituency about you in terms of performance?
Answer:
Good Good… I am called by a new name in my constituency. I came into the Edo State House of Assembly as comrade Philip Shaibu but am living the Edo State House of Assembly as Mr Constituency project. That is the name given to me by my constituency.
Question: What are the expectations of your people from you as a member of the 8th National Assembly?
Answer:
Simple. My people expect me to maintain my name and remain as mr constituency project. I am a performer. I don’t preach whatever I cannot spearhead. Did you not see my election? The gap between me and my opponent was like Sokoto to Rivers. That alone shows my acceptability. How can I turn my back against the people that voted and protect the vote for me?
Question: What are the motions and Bills that you are warming up to move at the National Assembly?
Answer:
Nice one. First, there are some serious Bills and Motions that are dare to me that I was not able to move in the Edo State house of Assembly for eight years. Now at the national Assembly I must move those motions. I call them exclusive list. The first among them is power reform. The power reform must go beyond providing transformers. We need to re-visit fixed charges that the private sectors are charging. We need to make law such that if you buy a transformer to assist power supply, a method of refund must be put in place. It is painful to buy a transformer and the transformer will become a property of the power holdings and you that buy the transformer your light will be cut because you did not pay bill on time. How can a man who just buy you a transformer pay you bill the next month when it was your own duty to buy the transformer and provide electricity to the people. The next motion dare to me is the financial sector. The banking sector need a lot of reform because it is supposed to be the driver of the economy. A private sector driven economy is enegised by the banking sector. For me, we need to turn our banks to real financial house rather than making it a legal means of encouraging girls into prostitution. How can a bank determined when a married woman should be pregnant? Bank give target that are not realizable.
Infact I am looking forward to a challenging national Assembly where the mind set of our people would be achieved through law making.
from BEN. ATU
08038847596
THANK YOU SIR.
