The House of Representatives regrets to announce the demise of foremost statesman and 4th Assembly Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na’Abba, CFR.
The former Speaker passed this Wednesday, at the age of 65.
Rt. Hon. Na’Abba was a passionate and courageous parliamentarian-cum-public servant who made remarkable contributions to the development of the legislative arm of government and indeed the entire country.
In his reaction, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen PhD, described the late Hon. Na’Abba as one of Nigeria’s finest lawmakers and prayed to Allah to grant him Jannatul Firdaus.
_“Rt. Hon. Ghali Na’Abba was a special breed as a lawmaker. He showed leadership as Speaker of the 4th House. He inspired members of the House under his leadership in many ways. Furthermore, he championed the first and only successful veto of a sitting president, leading to the establishment of the NDDC._
“_Long after his exit from the parliament, he remained active politically, and continued to encourage and motivate us all,”_ Speaker Abbas added.
Hon. Na’Abba started his political career in the Second Republic, and was elected to the Green Chamber in the 4th Assembly (1999 – 2003) to represent Kano Municipal Federal Constituency. He was subsequently appointed to the crucial office of Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, before fate thrust on him the leadership of the House on July 29, 1999, as the 7th indigenous Speaker of the Nigeria House of Representatives.
As the second substantive Speaker in our 4th Republic, he was central to the rebuilding of the legislative arm of government to play its constitutional role in our democratic journey after a long period of military intervention in the polity. Amongst other achievements, he led the design of an effective framework and processes for the conduct of parliamentary business as we know it today. It is on this foundation that subsequent Speakers have continued to build upon.
The idea of a Legislative Agenda for the House is known to have been birthed during his leadership of the 4th House of Representatives. He is also reputed to have worked for a robust defence of the independence of the legislature, passage of impactful resolutions and landmark laws to ensure effective service delivery and people-driven development as Presiding Officer of the Green Chamber.
Importantly, upon leaving office, the prolific political scientist completed a post-graduate programme in Leadership and Good Governance at the prestigious Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, United States. He thus continued to make robust contributions to nation building through his attendance and presentation of papers at both local and international conferences on politics, parliamentary affairs, development, and good governance.
The demise of the former number four citizen who spent his life serving our dear country would therefore, be sorely felt in Nigeria and beyond where he led a number of international parliamentary bodies.
We commiserate with all Members of the National Assembly over this heavy loss and our thoughts are with his family, loved ones, associates, as well as the good people of Kano State. May God comfort all who mourn.
