And after emerging as the APC candidate for the position of speaker, many Nigerians in Diaspora expressed disappointment over the development noting that Gbajabiamila’s candidature is a mockery of anti-corruption and moral discipline that President Muhammadu Buhari epitomizes. “He is not qualified for speakership on moral grounds,” said one of the Nigerians in Diaspora who spoke with Global Village Extra.
“Presenting a fraudster like Gbajabiamila who pleaded guilty to defrauding clients’ money and got his license suspended for 3 years, negates the Anti corruption stand of the Buhari administration. Why can’t we for once do things right? The guy is a crook, period!” the aggrieved Nigerian added.
One of the arguments of the Nigerians was that Gbajabiamila’s election as House Speaker would ‘water’ the exalted office of the Speaker and the image of Nigeria and the new APC government within Nigeria and around the world. A group under the auspices of National Coalition for Credible Leadership has also called for Gbajabiamila’s withdrawal over the alleged criminal and moral issues standing against him. According to Mr. Chudi Okafor, the group’s National Coordinator, the lawmaker must withdraw from the race on the account of his dual citizenship adding that he has a surname of Gbaja on his America passport, a surname different from Gbajabiamila that he is currently using in Nigeria.
“Hon. Gbajabiamila who practiced law in America with bar number 288330 was convicted of defrauding his client when he practiced law in the US State of Georgia”.“It is worth mentioning here that the punishment for Femi Gbaja’s offense would have been outright debarment, however, he pleaded guilty before a full panel of the Supreme Court of Georgia led by Justice Leah Ward Sears. “Before the court rule on the petition from his client, he (Gbaja) filed a petition for voluntarily discipline, filed under bar rule 4-227 (b) in which he fully admitted allegation from his client, while Georgia’s Supreme Court suspended him from practice of law for 36 months.
“We are also aware that section 66 (1) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states that: “No person shall be qualified for election to the Senate or the House of Representatives if he was convicted of criminal offense within a period of less than 10 years before the date of an election to a Legislative House. “This singular act of Femi Gbajabiamila contravenes the provision of the constitution which states that ‘No person shall be qualified for election to the Senate or the House of Representatives if he has been convicted and sentenced for an offense involving dishonesty or he has been found guilty of a contravention of the Code of Conduct’,” the statement read.
While emphasising his citizenship of the United States, the statement read further, “as an American, he swore his allegiance to the United States of America. Not only that, as a requirement he must renounce his allegiance to his country of birth before he can be given American citizenship. “This supposes that he has pledged his allegiance to the USA which contravenes the provisions of section 66 (1a) of the 1999 Constitution, which states that: ‘No person shall be qualified for election to the senate or the House of Representatives if. “Considering the provisions of section 28 of the constitution, he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than of Nigeria or except, in such cases as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, has made declaration of allegiance to such a country.
“Needless to say that before you can become American citizen you must swear your allegiance to the United States; more so, that Hon. Gbajabiamila is an American citizen and holds the American passport with the surname Gbaja. How can one person bear two different surnames?” “In light of the foregoing, we therefore call on Hon. Gbajabiamila to honourably withdraw from the Speakership race and go and clear himself in the courts. Gbajabiamila has a lot of moral and legal questions hanging on his neck, which can bring the exalted seat of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to disrepute”.
SOURCE MARIA EKE FBPAGE
