Ikuforiji To Return As Lagos Speaker

When the seventh session of the Lagos State House of Assembly prepares begins in June, P.M.NEWS has learnt from reliable sources within the Assembly that the Speaker of the House, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, will retain his position unopposed.

Though there had been some grievances from lawmakers who feel they are also qualified for the position, it was gathered that the leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the state have prevailed on them step down for Ikuforiji.

According to lawmakers who spoke with P.M.NEWS on the condition of anonymity, the Speaker has bought the confidence and favour of the party leadership and he is seen as the best the state has produced since the inception of democracy in 1999.

“Since the beginning of this democratic dispensation, Ikuforiji is the only one that has upheld and brought to the fore the important place of the legislative arm of government in the state.

“He is the favourite of the party and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Even if we want to grumble, we would only do it within the confines of our houses and offices to avoid being tagged negatively,” one of the sources told P.M.NEWS on the telephone.

Another lawmaker, who was contacted on the issue, asked if the Speaker is not qualified to return to the seat. He added that the lawmakers were only waiting for the confirmation of Ikuforiji as the Speaker for the next four years.

He said: “Remember we have up to 16 new lawmakers who would be sworn-in with us in June this year. These 16 lawmakers have been told what to do about Ikuforiji as the Speaker of the House.

“The Speaker also has a lot of loyalists among the old members, because he has, apart from being the head of the Assembly, served as an umbrella and fighting for the cause of the members. Most of the things we enjoy today are what he fought for.

“It is in his time the idea of building a new Chamber came up and it is now at the finishing stage. It is also in his time that the idea of building new offices came up and today work has progressed on it.

“My brother, in as much as we may be talking about morality question here, the truth still remains that he is one of the best lawmakers we have and the favourite of the party hierarchy.”

He said even those being touted as eyeing the position never made their intention known but met some of their colleagues individually to seek opinions concerning their ambition.

Ikuforiji has also confirmed that he is coming back as the Speaker of the House when the new session reconvenes and according to him, he does not need to beg his colleagues again to retain the position.

The Speaker maintained that his work as the Speaker of the House would speak for him when it is time to pick the Speaker of the next Assembly.

According to him, “ordinarily you should expect that I would seek re-election to the position. I don’t think the job is completed. The foundation has been laid, but there are a lot of other things to be done. I also have enough vigour to get the job done.

“I don’t need to appeal to my colleagues. The work I have done as the Speaker of the House would speak in my favour. If there is anything called reasonableness, patriotism and the need to move forward, I don’t think I need any appeal to be re-elected as Speaker of the House.”

—Eromosele Ebhomele