How Gbajabiamila bribed colleagues to emerge Speaker, group alleges

A group of lawmakers drawn from various parties have accused the newly elected speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila of allegedly buying votes of colleagues during the June 11 election in the house.

The group is also accusing the Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Sani Omolori of gross impunity and condoning impunity among lawmakers during the election.

The spokesman of the new group, Honourable Mark Terseer Gbillah (PDP, Gwer West/Gwer East Federal Constituency, Benue state), in a statement on Monday, said there findings revealed that people were initially given ten thousand dollars each with a balance ranging from forty thousand dollars that was supposed to be given for voting for Gbajabiamila.

Making references to photographic images and video evidence being released to back up their claims, Gbillah asserted that they are only embarking on a principled struggle, adding that while the members have no personal grudges against any person or political party, they will not condone any illegitimacy in the election of the person or persons who will lead the House of Representatives.

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“We Believe that if President Buhari himself truly preaches and believes in transparency and anti-corruption, then he should realize what his government and what whom he supported has done to become Speaker of the House. We will explore every legitimate means possible to ensure that justice is done and genuine democratic norms prevail.”

Alleging the prevalence of anti-democratic tendencies, impunity and vote-buying in the voting exercise that took place in the House of Representatives on June 11, he said that the newly-formed G-70 group of House members is seeking the nullification of the purported victory of Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila and Hon Ahmed Wase, adding that they are determined to tender relevant evidence towards ensuring that the entire exercise is nullified.

Emphasizing that the voting process confirmed previous alarm raised about likely buying of votes on a massive scale, he said that the G-70 is heading to court immediately to seek legal redress for what he described as an affront against democracy and the law.

“From our findings, it appears that people were initially given ten thousand dollars each with a balance ranging from forty thousand dollars that was supposed to be given for voting for Gbajabiamila; the evidence is there.

“Some of our members across party lines are heading to court to demand nullification of the exercise and for the courts to declare the election null and void and to seek the prosecution of Gbajabiamila and all those members who were part of the anti-democratic conspiracy.

The maintained that the issue has gone beyond conjectures as concrete evidence of how the entire exercise was compromised can now be tabled before the courts.

“Such monitoring and impunity are anti-democratic and illegal; there is also video evidence and the issues we are raising were conducted under the glare of cameras on live television, with members displaying the ‘Green Card’ openly on the floor of the House and they were seen displaying their votes.