A former President of the Senate, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, has spoken of how former presiding officers of the National Assembly tried to rally support for Rt. Hon. Ghali Na’Abba, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, before his sudden passing on Wednesday morning.

Anyim, who led the 4th Senate as its 3rd President, revealed that the former presiding officers met on December 23, 2003, and took a decision to meet again at the National Hospital, Abuja, to review Na’Abba’s case.

He said the idea was to contribute to facilitating his speedy recovery, including being flown abroad for further medical care as soon as his condition stabilised.

“Sadly, on the 27th of December, 2023, the tragic news of his death broke, leaving little time to seek additional medical assistance. Hon. Ghali’s death is a national tragedy and a setback to our democratic progress,” Anyim stated in a tribute to the late speaker on Thursday.

Anyim disclosed how the 4th Assembly, taking off on the heels of Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, had no requisite structures to work, adding that Na’Abba contributed immensely to putting in place the structures that formed today’s National Assembly.

He shared his experience: “When Hon. Ghali was selected as the Speaker of the 4th House of Representatives, I had the opportunity to meet him at the 4th National Assembly. Later, I was elected as the 3rd President of the 4th Senate.

“To put it mildly, it was extremely difficult for both of us to lead the National Assembly during the period when democracy was restored following a 16-year absence of parliamentary institutions in Nigeria.

“We soon concluded that to accomplish the task at hand, we would need to collaborate closely. To re-establish all democratic institutions through legislation, we needed to redefine the relationship between the executive and legislative branches and seek to ensure the independence of the legislature.

“Locally, the National Assembly members lacked offices, budgeting procedures, House and Senate rules, and rules governing their remuneration. At the global level, we had to rejoin and become members of important international parliamentary organisations, such as the African Parliamentary Union (APU), Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), and International Parliamentary Union (IPU), among others.

“In the year 2000, we were at the forefront of the inauguration of the ECOWAS Parliament in Bamako, Mali. My work with Hon. Ghali as leader of the 4th National Assembly was actually to lay the foundation upon which the subsequent National Assembly could build.

“I recall with a sense of credit to Hon. Ghali how he worked with me to develop the brief for the scope and design of the new wings of the National Assembly Complex for Julius Berger Nig. Plc; it was nights of no sleep for several months,” he added.

As a reward for the efforts the late speaker made in building the legislature, Anyim suggested that the House of Representatives Wing of the National Assembly should be named after him.

He added, “I remember, with sufficient patriotism, how Ghali and I got together to decide on the Senate’s and the House of Representatives participation ratios in international parliamentary bodies. I will always be grateful to Ghali for supporting me during my difficult Senate tenure.

“I respect Ghali’s courage and convictions, and I acknowledge with due humility his sense of brotherhood and camaraderie. His rare insight and intellect are enviable and admirable.

“Today, my associate, my friend, and my brother, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, are no more. I lost a friend, the nation lost a patriot, and his family lost a loving and caring father, but God receives in heaven an honest and compassionate soul.

“In remembrance of the pioneering work Hon. Ghali accomplished in the House of Representatives, it may be necessary to name the House of Representative Wing of the National Assembly Complex as Hon. Ghali Umar Na’Abba’s Wing,” he added.

Anyim, on behalf of past presiding officers, condoled with Na’Abba’s family and the nation over the death of the former Speaker. (Nigerian Tribune)

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