Femi Gbajabiamila, the departing speaker of the House of Representatives, has chosen to serve as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s chief of staff, which automatically disqualifies him from serving in the upcoming 10th National Assembly.
Gbajamiamila, the current Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, was elected to a record-breaking sixth term representing Lagos State’s Surulere Federal Constituency.
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A statement posted by his Chief of Staff, Olanrewaju Smart Wasiu on his official Facebook page on Thursday morning reads;
After several hours of meetings and consultations, President Bola Tinubu has made his first appointment, picking the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, as the president’s Chief of Staff.
According to the statement, the President considered all potential candidates vying for the position among his supporters before deciding on Gbajabiamila.
This scenario would force Gbajabiamila, who has not yet received his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to forfeit his election to the House of Representatives for a sixth term and join the executive branch of government.
Other party candidates who had given up on running for the House of Representatives seat representing Surulere Constituency 1 would now get a second chance to do so as a result of this event.
The statement added that Gbajabiamila was picked by the President after a final meeting with stakeholders that ended on Thursday morning at the Villa in Abuja.
Tinubu’s decision to pick the Speaker ahead of James Faleke, who represents Ikeja Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives and handled his campaign effectively, was to get someone that could assist him persuade lawmakers in the National Assembly to accept his proposals.
