The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila is a man close to my heart, and I know he is also close to the hearts of many Nigerians at this moment, especially the youths.
Unarguably, the Nigerian youths never had it this good with any Speaker of the House in since the return of democracy in 1999.
Though he already approaches his advanced age, 57, the Speaker considers himself as a young man. In fact, he said to his newly appointed media team last Saturday that “I’m a young Speaker with a young media team.”
Of all the appointments the Speaker made, including his Chief of Staff (CoS) Alhaji Sanusi Garba Rikiji, majority of them are youths.
He first of all appointed 51-year old Rikiji, a former Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly as his Chief of Staff on June 11.
The next set of appointments that the Speaker made was that of members of his media team. As part of his belief that Nigeria will sooner or later be led by young people, the Speaker appointed four very young people, out of the 6-member media team.
For the avoidance of doubt, the head of the media team and Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi is 46, while myself, the Chief Press Secretary, I am 33. The special assistant on print media, Dele Anofi, who is the oldest in the media team, is 52.
The special assistant on broadcast/electronic media, Kunle Somoye is 26, while the man in charge of new media, Bukola Ogunyemi, is 32, with the special assistant on visual communication/official photographer, Ayo Adeagbo, 25. This is the first in history of this country. The Speaker himself was excited by this team.
To show that he knows what he is doing all the time, the Speaker personally conducted searches on each of the members of the media team before appointing them all.
But as Nigerians were expressing excitement about the composition of the media team, a bigger excitement that endeared the Speaker more into the hearts of the citizens came on Tuesday, July 16 when the Speaker announced the appointment of additional aides that would assist him in his leadership.
From the latest appointments, the Special Adviser on Political Matters to the Speaker, Wasiu Olanrewaju-Smart is 33, while the Special Adviser on Special Duties Badmus Olufunmi is 37.
The Speaker’s Senior Legislative Aide, Adim Akpapunam, is 24, with 30-year old Hadiza Abubakar Talba as the Special Assistant on Employment and Job Creation, while the Special Assistant on Gender Equality, Fatima Kakuri, is 32.
Additionally, the Tuesday’s appointments indicated that the Special Assistant on Inter-governmental Affairs, Adaku Apugo, is 33, even as the Special Assistant on Policy and Inter-Parliamentary, Princewill Tabia, is 30 years old.
The Speaker’s Special Assistant on IDPs, Hamza Baba Ibrahim, is 39 with Ibrahim Alli-Balogun, who is 40, as the Special Assistant on Youth Matters. The Special Assistant on Executive Relations, Hon Ibrahim Mohammed Baba, is 42 years old.
The appointments also showed that the Special Assistant on Budget and Finance, Lukman Oyewole Lawal, is 43, while the Special Assistant on Legal Matters, Osazee Melody Ogundijie, is 46.
That is not all. The Special Assistant on Members’ Affairs, Dunkwu Nnamdi Chamberlain, is 48. Similarly, the Special Adviser on Administration, Odofin David Seun is 50.
The new appointees’ list equally had 47-year old Hon. Ayodeji Joseph as the Special Assistant on Political Matters (South West), and 49-year old Abdulsalam Idowu Kamaldeen as the Special Assistant on Special Needs/Equal Opportunities.
With the above appointments, it is glaring that the Rt. Hon. Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila is a true lover of the Nigerian youths. He believes in the competence of the Nigerian youth to handle national issues, especially at the legislative level. Interestingly, all the appointed youths were carefully chosen by the Speaker himself because.
Though the appointees above 40 may not be categorised as real youths as such, they are still youth at heart.
The development undoubtedly confers on the Speaker the title of ‘The Lover of the Nigerian Youths.’ What now remains is for those appointed to justify the confidence reposed in them by the Speaker to deliver on their mandate and assist him in his ‘Nation Building: A Joint Task’ project, which the 9th House of Representatives seeks to pursue vigorously in the next four years.
Musa Abdullahi Krishi is Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, House of Representatives.
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