From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Adjoto Kabiru, has opened up on how he spends the security vote for his office.
Adjoto said he used his security vote to pay his security men, “to avoid being taken away like a chick by hoodlums.”
He said this at an interactive session with newsmen, in Benin, and added that the Assembly does not receive security vote except the speaker, who is the number three person in the state.
“If I am taken away like a chicken on the street, many people will say ‘did he not have security men around him?’ So, I use the security vote to take care of the security men protecting Mr. Speaker, in order for kidnappers and men of the underworld not to kidnap me.
“In the course of discharging my duty as Mr. Speaker, by moving from one community to another, or criss-crossing the country, do you want me to go alone? No. So, some armed security men must go with me. And, where do I pay them from? It is from Mr. Speaker’s security vote.”
Adjoto said being the speaker is a privilege and not a right and, therefore, cooperates with other members to make laws that would engender progress for the state.
“As Mr. Speaker, I am not superior to any other members as there are 24 in which I am one of them. Being a speaker is just a privilege and that does not make me a king over other members. “I will humble myself, see leadership as a collective enterprise. It is only when I am seeing myself as the man who knows it all, that is when I will fail as speaker but, if I see leadership as collective enterprise, I think that is when all the other 23 members will see me and respect me and to continue to see me as their speaker.
“I will not be a dictator, I will not take a decision without consultation. I will see myself as servant-leader and not superior to any of them,” he said.
On his part, Emmanuel Agbaje, representing Akoko-Edo Constituency II said the speaker has leadership qualities that would enhance development of the state and bring about effective legislature in the House.
He said the tribal sentiment while choosing leadership has not done any state good but tends to sacrifice efficiencies for mediocrity.
“Tribal consideration has always been the problem of development in Nigeria, as far as Edo state is concern, we are one family. When talking about power balancing, nobody is talking about the judiciary. The power balancing should not be limited alone to executive and legislature, we close our eyes to the judiciary.
“We did extensive consideration on the choice of whom should be our leader, but what is far more above is the capacity of that leader because at the end of the day, we slaughter competence on the altar of power balancing.
“We must ensure this community get this and at the end of the day, we end up in a colossal failure, we will give account to the people.
“Development is our focus. We should begin to downplay the aspect on the basis of power balancing or whatever they may call it. And it will not take us to anywhere.
“We must jettison those elements that are anti-development,” he said.