A mild drama unfolded on Thursday at the House of Representatives after the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, cautioned a member for openly faulting lawmakers’ conduct during plenary.

Ifeanyi Uzokwe, representing Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency of Anambra State, had raised a point of order to lament what he described as the growing lack of decorum among lawmakers.

Uzokwe said, “Every day we come here, Mr Speaker, we receive our children and visitors in the gallery.

They are here to see how we conduct ourselves and learn from us. But most times, what we display here is not what they should see as an example of parliamentarians.”

While Uzokwe was still expressing concerns, Speaker Abbas swiftly interjected, warning that such matters should not be raised publicly.

The Speaker said, “If what we are going to discuss pertains to this chamber, we can do it in an executive session.

“We don’t need to wash our dirty linen in public. I don’t understand what we stand to gain. You can request an executive session to address issues about our conduct. This is not the forum for that.”

Following Abbas’s appeal, Uzokwe reluctantly withdrew his comments, signalling an end to the brief tension on the floor.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has claimed that people who once insulted him have now become his praise singers.

He stated this on Wednesday while joining the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde to inaugurate the new Ibadan Central Bus Terminal at Iwo Road, a facility comprising two mega bus stations with waiting halls, ticket spaces, eateries, public conveniences, open vehicular parking, a power-generating house, water reservoir, elevators, and escalators.

Obasanjo urged Makinde not to be discouraged by criticisms of his administration, saying those who abuse leaders today often return to praise them later.

Describing Makinde as an Omoluabi, Obasanjo advised him to remain focused on ongoing developmental efforts, asserting, “Those abusing you today would praise you tomorrow. I was also abused too, and they have come back today to praise me. That is how it is.”

He praised the governor for making Ibadan livable through people-centered projects and noted that the construction of the terminals at Ojoo, Challenge, and Iwo Road would ease movement for residents. Obasanjo said the developments in Ibadan benefit the wider South-West region.

He added, “Makinde, you have done so well. You are making Ibadan livable and you have been trying to make everyone living in Ibadan and the state comfortable. Ibadan, in population, is the third largest city in Nigeria but in land area, it is the largest.

So, to move from point A to B in Ibadan is longer than moving from point A to B in the other two cities said to be larger than Ibadan in population, Lagos and Kano. If you are going to make it convenient for people to live and trade in Ibadan, there must be availability of transportation, and that is what these bus terminals are meant for.”

Obasanjo also commended Makinde personally, saying, “You invited me three days ago to this event; I didn’t hesitate. I came here because you are an Omoluabi. Before anyone can invite me to an event three days to the time, he must be someone I hold in high esteem. For you, if you call me a day to the event, I will come. You resemble me in a lot of ways. When people tell me Makinde is doing this infrastructure and all that, I always tell them why won’t he do it? He is an engineer; a professional engineer, who knows how to fix things. But you have added another feather to the cap, you are now also into political engineering.”

The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, Lere Olayinka, has explained the cause of the face-off between his principal and some military officers allegedly involved in land grabbing.

Naija News reports that Wike and some military personnel were involved in a face-off on Tuesday, after the Minister was denied access to the land in contention.

However, during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, Olayinka disclosed that the owner of the land, former Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral, Awal Gambo, was scammed by the company that had originally allocated the land.

According to him, the former Naval Staff Vice Admiral, instead of seeking help to resolve the land dispute, resorted to using military force.

He said, “That particular land was allocated to a company in 2007, Santos Estate Limited for park and recreation. The company did not do anything on the land because that place is a parkway, is a walkway, is a road corridor. You don’t build there.

“Then in 2022, the company wrote to the FCTA, the Minister I want approval from you to convert the purpose to commercial, from park, to build park. You know what park is? Not permanent structures. Probably in anticipation of the Minister’s approval for conversion.

“The man decided to partition the land allocated to him for park and recreation, he now partitioned the land and sold to people including the former chief of Naval Staff.

And that is why I want to say here that the former Chief of Naval Staff was scammed, he was scammed. And he has realized that he was scammed. Instead of him to now come out and seek help, he resorted to use military might.

“Now, in 2022, the Minister of FCT declined that request. Did not grant the request for change of land use made by that company. That is where it ended. But he had already sold the land to people. Giving them the impression that the land use will change.”

Olayinka also faulted the military officer who denied Wike access, claiming that he was obeying orders.

He said, “I saw the military officer yesterday telling us that he was acting on order, and I’ve also read online that a military man should obey the last order. And I’ve asked myself, which order? Like the Minister also asked yesterday which order?

“You obeyed the last order, yes but that order has to be lawful, the order has to be reasonable. For instance, if I am a military officer and my superior gives me an order to go and shoot somebody, or let’s say my boss gives me an order to go and rape my daughter, will I obey the order because the order is coming from my superior?

“Or because somebody is dragging a girlfriend with my superior and that superior now sees this person dragging girlfriend with him walking on the street, and he says, shoot this person, because it is an order, I should obey it.

A military man should go and mount guard in a public building under construction, that is the issue here. Building under construction, military men that was reposted to the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awal Gambo, as his personal security detail, to secure him, to guard him, to protect him. He now chose to make himself vulnerable and send those people on that errand.

“It’s like somebody now there, I have security to protect me. And I now choose to send them to go and be protecting my property that is under construction. I don’t seem to get it.”