Abbas: My Relationship with Uzodinma Cordial

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Contrary to some media reports, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has said he enjoyed a cordial relationship with Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State.

Abbas stated this in a statement yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, while reacting to a media report titled: “Uzodimma Reports Abbas to Tinubu for Giving Ugochinyere Juicy Committee”, insinuated that he was at loggerheads with Uzodinma.

The Speaker said the report was “fictitious” and “malicious”, and urged the public to disregard the story.

“It has come to the attention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D, 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,” he said.

The Speaker  informed the public that at no time did Uzodinma contact him to rescind the appointment of Hon. Ikenga  Ugochinyere as the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream).

He reiterated that Abbas enjoyed a cordial relationship with Uzodinma 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.

“Suffice to say, there is no element of truth whatsoever in the story under reference. The Speaker, therefore, urges the public to discountenance the report completely, as it is entirely the figment of the overheated imagination of the writer and his sponsors.”