House of Reps inaugurates standing committees today

Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, is set to inaugurate 96 Standing Committees of the lower chamber of the National Assembly, to perform oversight functions on Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs).
The deputy chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Jonathan Gaza (Nasarawa-PDP) told newsmen on Friday in Abuja that all arrangements had been concluded for the event.
Gaza said that the House was already shopping for replacement of leaders of some standing committees who resigned their appointments.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that Garba Datti (Kaduna-APC), chairman, Solid Minerals Development, and Sunday Adepoju, deputy chairman, Special Duties, had resigned their appointments.
Contrary to agitation by some lawmakers that they were not duly consulted in the selection process, Gaza insisted that all the stakeholders in the process were duly consulted.
“Due consultation was carried out and I know that all parties were carried along in the appointment of chairmen and their deputies to the various standing committees.
“There is no conflict and the House remains one. Consultation was carried out and a list of chairmen has emerged and we will be stronger for it.”
Adepoju, however, blamed his resignation on the sharing formula adopted in composing the committees. He faulted the allocation of 47 Standing Committees to opposition parties.
According to him, the composition of the chairmanship of the Standing Committees has empowered the opposition against APC.
“The work of the opposition is to make your government unpopular. Then, how do we make our government popular if all those things have been given to the opposition?” he asked rhetorically.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Ossai (Delta-PDP), decried the misunderstanding between the two parties over the chairmanship of the committees.
‘’We were not voted to be heads of committees in the National Assembly, rather, we were voted to come and represent our people. And in the process, committees are formed; if at the end you do not head a committee, I don’t think you should feel totally bad.”
He said that those who rejected their positions were at liberty to do so. “It depends on the individual; if they feel that they cannot work in that capacity, they are free to resign,” Ossai said.
The 96 committees, All Progressives Congress (APC) chairs 48 committees while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) heads 45. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) are to chair one committee each.