Don’t play politics with your office, Gbajabiamila tells FCC chair

TRACKING____Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has cautioned Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka, against playing politics with her office.

Gbajabiamila said although her being appointed to the office could be termed a political appointment, it was important that she stayed away from politics in her dealings, saying, “It is a very sensitive office.”

He said the office of the chairman and the entire commission has the “imprimatur of the constitution,” hence her job remained constitutional.
Speaking when Dankaka and some of her commissioners visited him yesterday in Abuja, Gbajabiamila said the commission and other government agencies were always welcome to the House for symbiotic relationships.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, he said, “From the onset this House is an open House. We don’t just talk the talk when we say it’s the people’s House; we actually work that talk and we mean whatever we say.

“This is your first visit, but we may have other engagements after this, because we need to have a symbiotic relationship between your organisation and the House of Representatives. It is only when we have such a relationship that your work can be made easier.

“The reason I emphasised that is because you hold a very sensitive office, in the sense that it is one of those offices that have constitutional backing. You derive your powers from the constitution. It is stated there clearly.”

Responding, Dankaka said she and her team visited the Speaker to introduce themselves, having been appointed only recently and assured that the commission was committed to diligent and patriotic service, and solicited the House’ support to succeed in its mandate.