An intense lobby has begun for appointment into ‘juicy’ committee of the House following the constitution of a Selection Committee to recommend members for appointment as Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of Standing Committees

Speaker Tajudeen Abbas last Thursday appointed a selection committee among six other special committees.

The Selection Committee, which is headed by the Speaker, will have one member each from the 36 States and is expected to come up with a list which is likely to be announced when the House resumes plenary on July 4.

The Nation gathered that old and new members have begun lobbying for committees regarded as juicy committees of the House.

The 9^th Assembly had over 100 committees with some of them supervising only one agency while others had over five agencies to supervise.

It was gathered that the immediate past Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation may be handed back his committee as part of the deal struck with him before he stepped down from the Speakership contest.

He was said to have also been assured that some of his loyalists will be considered for Committee chairmanship and deputy chairmanship.

Many lawmakers consider committees that oversee Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government(MDAs) with enormous influence and huge budgets as ‘juicy’ and such committees are often reserved for key members of the leading party and those loyal to the presiding officers.

Apart from these-so called juicy committees, the Committee on Public Account, which is the only Committee recognised by the Constitution and the Committee on Public petition, are reserved for members of the opposition.

While Hon. Wole Oke, who headed the Public Accounts Committee in the 9^th Assembly was reelected for the 10^th Assembly, his colleague in public petition, Jerry Alagbaoso did not make it back.

Oke, who was one of those tipped for the position or Minority Leader, is however said to have backed down for Kingsley China and may be asked to retain his committee if he fails to make it to the leadership of the House.

The committee oversees the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, which audits the accounts of all MDAs.

The committee has the power to uphold audit queries or recommend their nullification after grilling heads of the MDAs.

However, the announcement of committee headship may have to wait till the Principals Officer positions are filled by the parties.

They are the Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Majority Whip, Deputy Majority Whip, Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.

The eight political parties in the House supported the emergence of Tajudeen Abbas as Speaker and expects to be compensated with committee headship.

The APC has 177 members in the House; PDP has 117 members; LP 35; NNPP, 19; APGA, five; SDP, two; ADC, two; and the YPP, one, totalling 181 opposition members while one seat is vacant as a result of death, one other has been declared vacant following the resignation of former Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila who is now Chief of Staff to the President. (The Nation)

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