I Have Cordial Relationship With Uzodimma –Abbas

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has denied having any rift with Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, saying he enjoys a cordial relationship with him.

Abbas was reacting to a report suggesting that that he and Governor Uzodimma were at loggerheads over the appointment of Hon Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere as chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream).

LEADERSHIP had reported that Uzodimma is said to be unhappy with Abbas for allegedly encouraging and promoting Ugochinyere, who is a member of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), by appointing him as the chairman of House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream).

Multiple sources had told this paper that Uzodinma, who is chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), had protested the appointment of his arch-rival in the state as head of a grade A committee in the House, since it was made public on July 27.

Speaker Abbas incurred the wrath of Uzodimma who believes that the appointment would accord Ugochinyere undue prominence and visibility in the polity.

Besides, it was gathered that the governor considered the appointment of the lawmaker to head the juicy committee as an undue empowerment of an opposition politician and an affront on his status as governor of the state and chairman of the PGF.

But in a press statement by his special adviser on media and publicity, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, the Speaker said the report was “fictitious”, just as he urged the public to disregard the story.

The statement reads: “It has come to the attention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, that a newspaper report with the above headline has been in circulation.

“Ordinarily, the speaker would not respond to such a fictitious and malicious story, but for the unsuspecting public, who may be hoodwinked by the content of the report that was only attributed to imaginary ‘sources.’

“The speaker wishes to inform the public that at no time did the Imo State Governor, His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodimma, contact him to rescind the appointment of Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere as the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream).

“For the record, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas enjoys a cordial relationship with Governor Hope Uzodimma and nothing has happened to warrant any sour relationship between them.”

“It is worthy to note that Speaker Abbas Tajudeen was overwhelmingly voted by 353 out of 360 members of the House on June 13th, 2023 under the platform of the ‘Joint Task Coalition for Nation Building’ of the 10th House of Representatives. As such, the Speaker, and indeed the leadership of the House, have the responsibility to ensure that chairmanship of the Standing Committees of the House and responsibilities are assigned to elected lawmakers across political parties.”