By Christiana Ekpa
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, PhD, has said the 10th is willing to partner the Directorate of the Technical Aid Corps towards ensuring that patriotic Nigerians become good ambassadors of the country.
Speaker Abbas made this known when he received the Directorate of the Technical Aide Corps, a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on a courtesy visit to him in Abuja on Wednesday.
The Technical Aid Corps delegation was led by the newly appointed Director General, Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, who was the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in the 9th Assembly.
The Speaker congratulated Yakub on the TAC appointment “on behalf of the House of Representatives.” He noted that the members of the House who worked with the ex-lawmaker were not surprised by his appointment due to his personal qualities and pedigree.
While assuring Yakub of the House’s readiness to assist the agency in achieving its objectives, Speaker Abbas told him, “you can count on us as one of you any day, any time.”
The Speaker recalled with nostalgia how young Nigerians, including himself, aspired to be volunteers under the TAC when it was newly established, noting that the Corps “has been existing for quite a long of time.”
Speaker Abbas noted that it is very comforting that several volunteers under the Corps have now become good ambassadors of Nigeria across the world.
He said: “I urge you, the Director, to continue on this pedestal, on this lane of identifying Nigerians who are patriotic, disciplined, in sending them to those countries so that they will not only go there to serve the interests of the country but will equally defend the interests of Nigerians there.
“I want to sincerely inform you that the House of Representatives is ready to partner with you, to collaborate with your agency and to ensure that all those bottlenecks – all those challenges that are bedeviling your agency – are sorted once and for all.”
Earlier in his remarks, Yakub described the visit to the Speaker as a home-coming. “This is my home,” he said.
The TAC director congratulated him on his “overwhelming victory during the election for the speakership election.” Recalling that the Speaker garnered over 90 percent of the votes, he said, “this is a sign that you were elected by almost all the members of the House.”
Yakub stressed the need for more diplomacy in global politics, stating that, “It is better to conquer the world through soft power and diplomacy than with the barrels of the gun.”
The director of the TAC asked for the support of the Speaker, as the Head of the House of Reps, noting that “without the support of the parliament, we can hardly operate.”
