Abuja – The Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, on Tuesday tongue-lashed a member from
Benue state, Honourable Mark Terse Gbilah representing
Gwer-East/Wger-West Federal Constituency over unsavoury comments made in
the media against him and others.
The chastisement by the
Speaker came on the heels of motion on a matter of privileges brought by
Hon. Pat Asadu who prayed the House to investigate an alleged breach of
his privilege and those of his colleagues from Enugu and Ebonyi State
by the Benue Rep. Asadu, while moving the motion, had cited a
publication in Sun Newspaper wherein the lawmaker was quoted as
maligning both the governors of Enugu and Ebonyi states that they
instructed members from their States to work against PDP’s choice in the
Speakership election.
He also quoted the member as saying that
the PDP should discipline the two governors for working against the
party, saying that it questions his right as an elected representative
of his people.
He said his privilege and those of Enugu and
Ebonyi caucus were breached as he finds the assertions “unacceptable,
provocative and offensive”. He, therefore, called on the House to refer the matter to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges for investigation.
Deputy
Majority Leader, Hon. Toby Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu), also reacted to the
publication, saying that the comments cast aspersions on his credibility
as a member elected to represent his people.
He said it was
“uncharitable” for a member of the House to bring in an extraneous
person in matters of the parliament, adding that the said member, Mark
Gbilah, has no capacity to make his allegation because he couldn’t
remember being told by his governor how to vote on the floor of the
house.
At this point, Gbajabiamila intervened saying: “Let me say
that Hon Mark Gbilah, of late you’ve been making several unsavoury
comments both in print and on TV, many of which touched me; my personal
integrity. “You’ve made these comments without recourse to the rights of the people you talk about to protect their privacy.
“If
you remember, Honourable Mark Gbilah, not too long ago, there were very
weighty allegations levelled against you. Very weighty allegations! And
all of us in this House, particularly me, rose in unison to defend you
because those allegations were made without proof.
“But all of a
sudden, you turned around and began to make issues out of nothing all in
the name of politics,” Gbajabiamila noted.
He, however, urged
his colleagues to let the issue go as the erring member would be warned
to desist from making further derogatory comments.
“So Honourable
Colleagues, I want us to let this lie in the spirit of reconciliation
so that Hon Mark Gbilah would take stock of what he’s said and how they
affect the integrity of colleagues and the House in general. “And
that it also serves as a window of reflection on his part that everyone
has the right to protect and that when violated by unguarded utterances
could lead to consequences.
“So Hon Mark Gbilah, let this be the
last time we will hear of things like these from you and any other
member because if we do, we would be applying the rules as deemed
necessary,” the Speaker warned. The motion for investigation was therefore withdrawn.
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