House of Representatives member-elect for Owan Federal Constituency of Edo State, Mr. Pally Iriase, on Friday, denounced the decision of returning members of the National Assembly to exclude new members from occupying the Assembly’s principal offices.
He said that the way they were carrying on about ranking was wrong, adding that, “Our democracy has not lasted long enough, neither has it had the best of experience in terms of acceptable behaviour. Now, the image of the National Assembly is at the lowest ebb and anything that will make it a case of business as usual will not be acceptable to Nigerians.”
Iriase, who is the immediate past Secretary to the State Government (SSG), told journalists in Benin City that the development would bring in people with unenviable pedigree as leaders of the seventh Assembly, thereby denying Nigerians the positive changes they had been craving.
According to Iriase: “I am afraid that, that is where ranking is taking us to, because everybody who ranked was part of the rot. Why will they not allow us to bring fresh blood on board? For Christ’s sake, let experience, track record and pedigree determine who becomes chairman of a committee.”
He added that the greatest value that the legislature could give to governance was derivable from vibrant committee performance.
“Without wanting to sound immodest, when I quit banking at the level of African controller, I came into politics. I have been Deputy Speaker of a state legislature for four years. I have been a local government chairman and while on that, I doubled as the chairman of ALGON, managing the entire association of local governments in the state. I just quit my job as Secretary to the State Government,” he said further.
He pointed out that there were so many like him making the seventh Assembly and “then, somebody calls us rookies. I think it is unfair and it is not helpful to this nation that is yearning for change.”
He said that the way they were carrying on about ranking was wrong, adding that, “Our democracy has not lasted long enough, neither has it had the best of experience in terms of acceptable behaviour. Now, the image of the National Assembly is at the lowest ebb and anything that will make it a case of business as usual will not be acceptable to Nigerians.”
Iriase, who is the immediate past Secretary to the State Government (SSG), told journalists in Benin City that the development would bring in people with unenviable pedigree as leaders of the seventh Assembly, thereby denying Nigerians the positive changes they had been craving.
According to Iriase: “I am afraid that, that is where ranking is taking us to, because everybody who ranked was part of the rot. Why will they not allow us to bring fresh blood on board? For Christ’s sake, let experience, track record and pedigree determine who becomes chairman of a committee.”
He added that the greatest value that the legislature could give to governance was derivable from vibrant committee performance.
“Without wanting to sound immodest, when I quit banking at the level of African controller, I came into politics. I have been Deputy Speaker of a state legislature for four years. I have been a local government chairman and while on that, I doubled as the chairman of ALGON, managing the entire association of local governments in the state. I just quit my job as Secretary to the State Government,” he said further.
He pointed out that there were so many like him making the seventh Assembly and “then, somebody calls us rookies. I think it is unfair and it is not helpful to this nation that is yearning for change.”
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