The immediate House of Rep member representing Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State in the National Assembly, Rt.Hon.Linus Abaa Okorie, has congratulated his former colleague and member representing Surulere Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon.Femi Gbajabiamila, over his election as the Speaker of the 9th House.
Gbajabiamila on Tuesday emerged the Speaker of the House after defeating Umar Bago from Niger State with over 200 votes.
Okorie who chaired the Agricultural Colleges And Institutions Committee of the House in his second term urged the new Speaker to always remember the slogan of his campaign which was “Nation Building, A Joint Task” by carrying all members of the House together including those who opposed his choice as Speaker.
The former member of Ebonyi State House of Assembly noted that the nation has gotten to a critical point in its history where all leaders must come together with love and spirit of brotherhood in order to tackle the challenges confronting the country.
In a statement made in Abuja on Wednesday, Okorie who is of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)Â also congratulated Senator Ahmed Lawan for his election as the President of the 9th Senate.
The Statement which was signed by his media aide, Prince Agwu Chijioke Agwu, and made available to newsmen in Abakaliki, Okorie said Lawan and Femi were taking over the leadership of the House at a time their legislative experiences and tested leadership prowess was needed to unite the National Assembly for the greater good for the nation.
The ex-lawmaker further congratulated all the new and returning members of the National Assembly for their successful inauguration and urged them to approach their legislative duties with patriotism and fear of God.
“The beauty of it all is that both Femi and Lawan are taking over at a time their legislative experiences and leadership ingenuity are needed to galvanize the House to achieve its objectives. Both of them have been part of the National Assembly politics for well over 16 years and still counting. So, they know what it takes to have a rancour-free tenure.
” I congratulate them on their historic elections and advise them to carry all their colleagues along including those who opposed their emergence. That is the beauty of Democracy.
“We must also preserve the tenets of democracy by protecting the independence of the legislature while working in harmony with the executive to achieve enhanced security and welfare of the people. Because we have gotten to that critical juncture where we must put party differences aside for the interest of the nation”
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