Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal

Members of the House of Representatives flouted their resumption time for work on Wednesday, barely 24 hours after they adopted a new resumption time.

The Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, other principal officers and all the members who attended Wednesday’s sitting came late.

The House had changed its sitting time for plenary from 11am to 10am on Tuesday in new amendments it made to its Standing Orders.

But on Wednesday, only 25 out of the 360 lawmakers were in the chambers about 10.36am, when the Speaker himself arrived.

The usual long procession of principal officers into the chambers was missing, as only two out of 10 principal officers, besides Tambuwal, had yet arrived for duty at 10.36am.

Those who came in with Tambuwal into an almost empty chamber were the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor (Peoples Democratic Party, Delta State) and the Deputy Minority Leader, Abdulrahman Suleiman-Kawu (All Progressives Congress, Kano State).

The Majority Leader, Mulikat Akande-Adeola (PDP, Oyo State) came in around 11.15am.

The Chief Whip, Mr. Ishaka Bawa (PDP, Taraba State); Deputy Majority Whip, Mr. Ahmed Murktar (PDP, Niger State); Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Lagos State); and Minority Whip, Mr. Samson Osagie (APC, Edo State), all came very late to work.

The Deputy Speaker, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha (PDP, Imo State), did not come to the plenary throughout Wednesday’s sitting.

Wednesday’s sitting started without any of the House whips present, as they all sauntered in much later, leaving the task of calling members to order to Tambuwal.

Most of the civil servants working in the chambers, including the Clerk, Mr. Mohammed Sani-Omolori, also came late on Wednesday.

They were seen running from pillar to post, trying to put things in order as the Speaker walked in late around 10.36am.

In the new amendments, members will also sit on Mondays and Fridays, “except previously adjourned.”

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