The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has publicly issued a stern warning to a lawmaker against commenting on the conduct of legislators in public. This admonition came during plenary following a Point of Order raised by a member regarding the decorum of the proceedings.
The lawmaker in question, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, who represents Nnewi north/Nnewi south/Ekwusigo federal constituency of Anambra State, initiated the Point of Order to draw attention to what he perceived as lack of decorum during Thursday’s plenary, on the 13th of November, 2025.
Uzokwe highlighted the presence of guests and children who visit the chamber to observe the legislative process, emphasizing the need for legislators to set a positive example. He stated:
“Every day we come here, Mr Speaker, we receive our children and visitors in the gallery. Why are they here? They are here to see how we conduct ourselves and learn from us.
“But most times, what we display here is not what they should see as an example of parliamentarians. Mr Speaker, I love you, I love the leadership of this house, and we are united but we must conduct ourselves,” he said.
The Speaker, however, interrupted him, suggesting that such sensitive matters concerning internal affairs should be discussed privately, away from public view. Abbas stressed that the matter should be handled in an executive session.
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Abbas articulated his stance on addressing the issue, asserting that it should not be a subject of open debate: “If what we are going to discuss pertains to this chamber, we can do it in an executive session.
“We don’t need to wash our dirty linen in public. I don’t understand what we stand to gain. You can request an executive session to address issues about our conduct. This is not the forum for that. I appeal to you to withdraw,” the Speaker said.
The Speaker’s intervention firmly directed the lawmaker to handle internal criticisms within the confines of a private session, thereby preventing further public commentary on the legislators’ behavior.