President Muhammadu Buhari met with Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Gbajabiamila spoke with State House reporters and claimed that he had discussed with the president matters of national importance, including as the 2023 general elections, the rise in violence, and the controversy surrounding recent CBN policies.
He also discussed the dispute brought on by allegations made about the stamp duty funds that were attributed to House member Gudaji Kazaure.
In a widely shared video, Kazaure, who is the representative for Jigawa State’s Kazaure, Roni, Gwiwa, and Yankwashi Constituency in the House, accused CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele of trying to hide information about the purported receipt of N89.1 trillion in stamp duties by the central bank.
The congressman further claimed that he was refused permission to deliver the early findings of a committee Buhari appointed to investigate alleged CBN withholding of stamp duty revenue.
The accusation made by the congressman was scorned by the presidency earlier this month. The speaker claimed that the situation was unrelated to the National Assembly on Tuesday.
He said: “Kazaure, from my understanding, is working with whoever he’s working with. If it necessitates the House coming in, we will come in.
“If he has an official function, he should go ahead and do his work. But this has nothing to do with the National Assembly. Not that I know of.
“It was not based on a resolution of the National Assembly. It was not based on a motion from the National Assembly.
“I believe he said he had executive authority to do what he’s doing. If that be the case, then it’s got nothing to do with the National Assembly.”
Gbajabiamila pointed out that the House could only summon Kazaure to order if he was questioning the leadership, members, or integrity of the House in ways unrelated to what he was doing.
He added: “I think it’s important to separate the two. If he has the mandate to do something, that’s on him.
“When it came up, we asked members of the executive, and they said they were not aware of any mandate, or such mandate has been withdrawn.
“I don’t want to get into it, except to the extent that he attempts to impugn on the integrity of members of the House and that’s a no-no. We have nothing to do with this.”
