2020 budget: Oshiomhole commends Gbajabiamila over patriotism

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday, commended the commitment and patriotism of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila towards the quick passage of the 2020 budget.

Oshiomhole, who led other members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) on a visit to Gbajabiamila said: “I commend you for the way you handled the deep offshore bill. You have shown true patriotism in doing that. The last leadership of the National Assembly didn’t do this.

The APC national chairman also expressed appreciation to the Speaker for the support he has been extending to the party, saying ‎”We’ve seen your comments and positions on critical issues. You align your position with that of the party, and we’re very grateful.”

Responding, the Speaker thanked the APC National Chairman for the thank you visit, which he said was the first of its kind since he has been in the National Assembly.

“Let me say a big thank you to you because as we’re witnessing first, first and first in the activities of the House, this is the first time that we’re seeing the NWC come just to say thank you.

“Mr. Chairman, let me also congratulate the party on our recent double victory in Kogi and Bayelsa states. The fact that we came out victorious in both elections is a success, and much of it goes to the party.

‎”I’ve mentioned this to the President, the Chief of Staff and everybody that cares to listen that this is the first time that I’ve seen members work on the budget. We were having dinner at about 10.pm, and I told him that ‘if you go to the National Assembly right now, you’ll find my members there working on the budget. You’ll find them processing the budget without looking for any thank you or anything like that.’

“It has never happened. They took it seriously and worked hard. The commitment, the passion and the dedication were unparalleled. So, that you recognised us, we say thank you again.‎ Moving forward, it shows what a majority party should look like.”

The Speaker noted that the APC members stood their ground to ensure the passage of the Deep Offshore Agreement Bill, saying “I can tell you for free that some of those companies got to some members on the floor, not APC members.

“But we were able to put our foot down and understand that this is the majority party, this is what our government wants. And we did what we needed to do. I’ll be unfair if I don’t say that the PDP members, a good majority of them also worked with us on this.”