The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has explained his absence at last Wednesday’s event, where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), issued Certificate of Return to members-elect of the House of Representatives in the February 25 elections.
While some media reports had said the Speaker is being positioned as Chief of Staff to the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but addressing State House correspondents on Monday, after a meeting of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with the party’s lawmakers-elect, Gbajabiamila said he missed the event because he was in Lagos campaigning for the APC.
“I don’t know anything about that chief of staff thing. All I heard was that I didn’t come here last week to pick up my certificate of return and for that reason, somebody conjectured that I must be in line for the office because I didn’t care about my mandate.
“I was in Lagos and I could not leave Lagos because I was campaigning for my party. That’s number one. Again, it will interest you to know that I was not here four years ago to pick up my certificate of return from INEC because I couldn’t make it. I don’t think it is anything significant. I’ll pick up my certificate today or tomorrow”, he said.
