House Of Reps Speaker Disowns Aide Over Disparaging Comment On Buhari

Tajudeen Abbas

Hon Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has distanced himself from the statements made by one of his aides during an interview about the immediate-past president, Muhammadu Buhari.

The Speaker's adviser, Godfrey Gaiya, had said the former President promoted, rather than fight, corruption. When asked what he would tell former President Buhari if they meet face to face, Gaiya said;

“I will bluntly tell him that he failed. I will tell him: ‘Buhari, you have failed.’ He deceived Nigerians into believing that he is all righteous, but behind his so-called righteousness was hellish corruption.

“We have seen and we will still see the number of people that became multi-billionaires under Buhari. If you don’t fight corruption or turn the other side when you see evils, allowing the evils to continue, when you are supposed to be in charge and call them to order, you have failed.

“So, Buhari failed Nigeria in many areas. We are the highest indebted nation in Africa under eight years of Buhari’s administration.”

However reacting to Gaya's claim, Abbas stated that he never authorised him to grant such an interview. In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Kirshi, the Speaker said the views expressed in the interview by the aide remained his personal opinion.

The statement read;

“It has come to the attention of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas (PhD), that one of his aides granted an interview to a national daily in which he made some unsuitable comments.

“For the record, the said aide, Hon. Godfrey Gaiya, did not have the imprimatur of the Speaker to grant such an interview. Therefore, the comments were those of Godfrey Gaiya and not those of Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Speaker Abbas has a Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, who serves as his spokesman. All official statements from the Speaker come from his spokesman.

“It is pertinent to mention that the Speaker has tremendous respect for and enjoys same from former President Muhammadu Buhari, and the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, and will not say or do anything that will negatively affect his good relationship with them.

“The public should take note.”