Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, on Thursday sent away the representatives of the service chiefs from the Sectoral debate at the House of Representatives over the failure of their principals to appear in person for the event.
While postponing the debate to Tuesday, November 21, 2023, the Speaker directed the service chiefs to appear before the house.
Recall that the service chiefs made up of the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff and the Inspector General of Police were invited to take the floor on Thursday at the event which is a series of part of initiatives by the Speaker Tajudeen Abbas-led House to improve its constitutional oversight of the executive arm of government, in line with the Legislative Agenda for the 10th Assembly launched on Monday.
However, rather than appearing in person, the service chiefs sent representatives; a development that infuriated the lawmakers who arrived at the chambers in the early hours of the day.
Shortly after introducing themselves, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, via a point of order, drew the attention of the lawmakers to the fact that the service chiefs were invited to appear in person and not in proxy.
He subsequently moved a motion, praying the House not to entertain presentations from the representatives of the service chiefs.
Sustaining both the order and the motion, Speaker Abbas sent the guests away and directed the service chiefs to appear before the house on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, for the commencement of the debates.
