The 10th National Assembly is now two years old. On June 13, 2023, the overwhelming majority of the members of the House of Representatives — 353 out of 359 — reposed their massive confidence in Rt. Honourable Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D, GCON, to become the speaker. Two years down the line, the confidence has neither waned nor declined. In fact, it can be safely said that the confidence has increased in leaps and bounds.
Not just his colleagues; Nigerians from all walks of life have at different times in the past two years expressed conviction in the leadership of Speaker Tajudeen. “We appreciate you (Speaker Abbas) and we appreciate the calm nature of the House of Reps under your leadership. We are all witnesses,” said the President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation in Nigeria (CITN), Samuel Olushola Agbeluyi, mni, FCTI, during a courtesy visit to the speaker on February 13, 2025.
Speaker Abbas, a technocrat turned politician, was an accountant and teacher before he ventured into politics. As an academic, Speaker Abbas traversed the academia, with records of being the pioneer head of the departments of Accounting at two different institutions — Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic in 1989, and the Kaduna State University (KASU) in 2005. He had many papers published in his name and had attended over 40 national and international workshops, seminars, and conferences.
He is a Fellow, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILTS); Fellow, Chartered Institute of Marketers; Fellow, Chartered Institute of Administrators; Fellow, Chartered Institute of Treasury Management; Associate Member, Chartered Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Nigeria; Associate Members, Chartered Institute of Management.
After becoming speaker, Rt. Honourable Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D, GCON, delivered convocation lectures at two institutions of higher learning, occasioned by the academia’s recognition of his intellectual capacity. Similarly, more academic and professional institutions have conferred various honours on him. None was ever influenced just for the sake of recognition; they were all on merit.
On December 30, 2024, Speaker Abbas delivered the 14th Convocation Lecture of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Kwara State, after which the institution conferred on him, the Doctor of Public Administration (Honoris Causa). The lecture was titled: ‘Beyond Oil: Exploring Alternative Revenue Potentials for Economic Growth and Sustainable Development in Nigeria.’
When the leadership of the university visited to robe the speaker for the honorary degree on January 30, 2025, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Noah Yusuf, attested to the contribution of the speaker’s lecture to academic knowledge. “Till today, the lecture has continued to receive positive reactions from the global academic community, relevant stakeholders of the national economy, and the public,” Professor Yusuf said.
On January 31, 2025, the Speaker delivered the 33rd Convocation Lecture of the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, themed: From Crisis to Prosperity: Harnessing Technology to Drive Nigeria’s Transformation.
Furthermore, on April 10, 2025, at the 14th Convocation of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), he was conferred with the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) (Honoris Causa), for his many contributions to nation-building.
Earlier on December 10, 2024, the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN) presented him with an Honorary Fellowship Award of the institute.
Likewise, on April 10, 2025, Speaker Abbas was honoured with the Honorary Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). Another honorary fellowship came knocking on May 15, 2025. This time around, it was from the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA).
The speaker is a gentleman to the core — almost to perfection. Highly motivated for the nation-building job, he is a silent achiever.
Little wonder his legislative exploits — sponsoring a record 74 bills in the 9th Assembly, the highest by an individual lawmaker in the history of Nigerian democracy, out of which 21 got presidential assent — were not publicised until his campaigns for the speakership seat. Even after steering the wheel of the 10th House for two years, it is safe to say that his achievements speak for themselves. He enjoys getting busy with the job done, rather than attracting encomiums. Nevertheless, he deserves the accolades, honours, and recognitions that are due to a patriotic public servant.
One of the major highlights of the 10th House under Speaker Abbas is the prioritisation of issues affecting women and children.
Several women associations and gender-based non-governmental and civil society organisations have not only recognised his efforts but also honoured him. On the issue of women and youth empowerment, the Speaker has proven that he meant business.
Twice, the speaker vacated his seat for teenagers in recognition of the Nigerian children. The first time was on October 10, 2024, when a 16-year-old gender advocate, Isabel Anani, served as ‘Shadow Speaker’ in commemoration of the International Day for the Girl Child. Again, on May 27, 2025, Lawal Haruna Saliu, a student of Government Secondary School, Kuje, presided over the ceremonial session as the ‘Shadow Speaker’ in celebration of the Children’s Day.
On the international scene, Speaker Abbas has continued his parliamentary diplomacy across the world, with the mission to attract bilateral and multilateral deals for Nigeria via parliament-to-parliament negotiations and dialogues. He has established parliamentary friendship groups with virtually every country. While President Tinubu is selling Nigeria to the world, Speaker Abbas is marketing the country to the foreign parliaments, whose governments and businessmen will approve Foreign Direct Investments.
The speaker has also paid considerable attention to the capacity building of lawmakers, legislative aides and National Assembly staff. Here, the Parliamentary Development Programme, a joint partnership with between the House and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aimed at enhancing the capacity of the aforementioned, is a good point of reference.
Issues around policy are also on the front burner. No wonder, the speaker created the Programmes Coordination Unit (PCU) in his office, charged with the responsibility of coordinating all policy-related issues, as well as collaborating with the development partners for the good of Nigeria.
Moreover, Speaker Abbas is the first Speaker of the House to have received the second-highest national honour — Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) — which was hitherto mostly reserved for the Vice-President, President of the Senate, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), some distinguished Nigerians, and international figures. All thanks to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, who upgraded the initial Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) to GCON. This gesture was not only a vote of confidence in Speaker Abbas and his leadership; it corrected a longstanding anomaly in the national/constitutional hierarchy.
Indeed, as an academic, Speaker Abbas has not only provided leadership in the 10th House, but the chamber has witnessed peace and stability under him. That confirms his popularity and acceptability among his colleagues.
There is a common saying among analysts of Nigerian politics: “Enough of professional politicians. Let’s have professionals in politics.” Indeed, Nigerians have seen many on the political scene who are known for none other than politics and politicking. Some were even born into political families: the chip off the old block, they are called.
There are also those who found themselves in politics by providence. Honourable Abbas Tajudeen is one of the few. And if providence were a human being, it would have been proud of him.
•Baiyewu is the Chief Press Secretary of the Speaker, House of Representatives.
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