Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabimila, has recalled how Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, betrayed him in his earlier quest to be the Speaker. [/b]He said despite supporting Tambuwal to emerge Speaker of the House in 2011, [b]the Sokoto governor abandoned him and lined behind Yakubu Dogara in 2015. Gbajabiamila disclosed this in a recent book – Mr Speaker: The Legislative Life, Service And Resilience of Femi Gbajabiamila – written by two of his aides, Dr Charles Omole and Musa Abdullahi Krishi. Narrating Gbajabiamila’s disappointment with Tambuwal’s decision to work against Gbajabiamila’s quest to be the speaker in 2015, the authors wrote: “One good turn, it’s often said, deserves another.
However, that seemed not to be the case between Tambuwal and Gbajabiamila when it was time for the Surulere 1 Federal Constituency lawmaker to have his own turn as a Speaker in 2015, following the victory of the APC at the polls. Tambuwal did not only oppose him, he also ensured that Yakubu Dogara defeated the man that first conceived the idea for him (Tambuwal) to be Speaker.
“Not only did Gbajabiamila work for Tambuwal’s emergence in 2011, he also stood by him through thick and thin throughout the four-year tenure. For example, when there were attempts by the then executive arm to remove Tambuwal, following his defection to the APC, Gbajabimila, along with like-minded, had to scale the National Assembly gate to access the House chamber in order to forestall the plot. “Coming to 2015, with all the sacrifices that Gbajabiamila made for Tambuwal, it was taken for granted that the (now) Sokoto State governor would support him to emerge Speaker. But the outgoing Speaker had another plan – to have Dogara succeed him.” Giving an insight into how Tambuwal stabbed him in the back, Gbajabiamila opened up: “When the time came for the speakership election, it was taken for granted.
