Speakership: Etteh’s saga won’t work against me – Female Rep

A member of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Mulikat Akande-Adeola, who is contesting the speakership of the House, in this interview with journalists bares her mind on the endorsement of one of her opponents by the South-West chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party. NIYI ODEBODE was there: Excerpts.

Why do you want to be the speaker of the House?

Apart from the prerequisite in the constitution, the party and the qualification for anybody aspiring to be Speaker which I meet- I mean constitutionally – there is nothing much other than basic education and the fact that you are a member of the House. From the House rules, you have to be a ranking member. By coming back this time around as a second timer, I am a ranking member. From the party angle, it (the position) has been zoned to the South-West where I come from. All that already clears the way for me.

Personally, I want to be Speaker based on so many things. I have been in the House in the last four years, and I have seen the way the House has been run and the issues that really come to my mind have to do with the democracy that we are operating. When we talk of democracy, we should be talking about good governance. And good governance is something that at the end of the day will benefit everybody in the country; whether minority, the majority or the physically challenged. I will pursue this.

The legislature is one of the arms of government and we know that the only way you can achieve national development is by constant change through legislation. In the House, we have 360 members representing various constituencies in the country. We are supposed to know what their problems are and provide solutions to them. A majority of these we can do by legislation which is the first function of the legislature.

As a person, in a democratic setting you need a lot. Being a Speaker, first and foremost is being the first among equals. Sitting with 359 other members, you need to earn their confidence. You need to be open to them. You need to be accountable. You need to be transparent. You need to bring them on board at every point in time because I believe that collective responsibility is very important in the attainment of whatever you want to do in the legislature. You cannot drive it alone. You cannot do anything alone. A lot of people have complained of undemocratic attitudes of leaders in the House. Some complain that they don’t even get to talk. All these will have to be tackled.

We also have to tackle the issue of our image in the House right now. We all know that the image of the House has not been too good in the last four years and that is something that bothers me. I know that I am a person of integrity and from my background I’ve learnt that if you want to tackle issues of our image, it will be through openness and dialogue.

Another issue is that of the budget. The budget implementation is a problem. The budget is brought late . Up till now, the budget for 2011 is yet to be signed. And I know that in the last two, three months, we have had this issue.

Without implementing the budget, what dividend of democracy are we going to give to our people? From inception, before the budget is brought to the House, we need to know the direction we are going and the necessary thing we need to have in the budget that will impact on the lives of our people. The regulation time is also important so that the time the budget gets to us, we don’t just sit and take two- three months before the budget gets out. Usually in many countries, you have next year’s budget ready before the end of December and by January implementation starts. But when the budget is still in the National Assembly till March and it stays till April when do you get to sign it? When do you get to implement it? These are some of the issues on my mind. We will have to work towards them for the benefit of the country.

The South-West PDP has endorsed one of your opponents. What is your take on this?

We are all qualified. We are all from the South- West. We are all from Oyo State. We are free to contest. If anybody will be picked, there will, at least, be a dialogue. I don’t know the basis of picking somebody. I don’t know why the person was picked, but I know that is unacceptable to all the members of the House.

Since your opponent was endorsed by the zonal chapter of the PDP, don’t you think that contesting the position will be going against your party?

Those who were in attendance at that meeting were some of the PDP members. We have so many PDP members in Oyo State or even in the South-West. Before I can say that I am out of the race, there must have been a meeting of all members of the PDP in the South-West, where such a decision has been taken. We have members of the party’s National Executive Committee, who were not part of that meeting. I think in a contest where you have three or two people, you must hear them out. I don’t think it was right to pick one person without this.

What do you see as your most formidable hurdle to clinching this position?

It is for me to be acceptable to my colleagues because being a speaker will depend on the acceptability of the members. If the members do not accept you, you cannot be the speaker no matter who is saying this is the person we want. The issue of acceptability is very important and we are working on that right now.

Don’t you see the experience of the House under the leadership of the first female Speaker-Patricia Etteh, as being a minus for your ambition?

The issue of Etteh does not come up at all; if a woman failed once, it does not mean that every other woman coming behind her will fail. We have several men who have failed and you people continue to nominate men for positions. So, this does not really come up. Etteh is different from Mulikat, we are from different backgrounds. We believe in different things. So we are different and the circumstances on ground right now are different. I don’t think the issue of Etteh will really work against me.

What’s your relationship with former president Olusegun Obasanjo considering the candidate the PDP is pushing forward from the South-West?

I can just say he is our leader. One of the leaders in the South-West- A father figure. He is old enough to be my father. He is our leader most essentially in the party. Apart from that, I don’t think there is any other relationship.

How are you factoring into your campaign agitations by the North for the same position?

First and foremost, I believe that the party is supreme. Whatever the party decides in terms of zoning we should abide by it. That’s one. Two, I share in the sentiments of my colleagues but we all belong to one party and I know that the party wouldn’t have come out with the zoning formula without consulting all those who should be consulted and all the issues that they need to consider. Right now, I am sure they are still talking and I am sure before long, the way out will be found and this does not mean that I will stop my campaign, I am at home with most of them and we are working together.

With the poor performance of the PDP in the South-West should you become Speaker which caucus will you lead?

The House is made up of 360 people from various states and to work with them they have to see you as one of their own. Right now, there are about 70 members from the South-West and only five PDP members from Oyo State. Definitely, I have to extend my hands of friendship to the Action Congress of Nigeria in the South-West which I am already doing.

I don’t see us operating on party lines. We are not going to be operating along party lines because we are working in the interest of the country. Whether you are from Labour Party, CPC, PDP as long as we understand one another we are going to form a very formidable House to be able to move this country forward.