Tajudeen Abbas: The Golden Underdog from Zazzau - Our Legislator of the Year 2024 (National Category)

By Dayo Israel, National Youth Leader, All Progressives Congress (APC) @dayoisrael 

“Excuse me, excuse me,” said Senator Abdullahi Adamu, our then National Chairman. “Please stop calling him ‘Mr. Speaker’—he is not yet the Speaker. He is a candidate like everyone else. Until they get to the floor of the House and vote for him, you cannot call him Mr. Speaker.”

The hall fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was during one of Abbas's official visits to the National Working Committee (NWC) amidst the leadership tussle that divided much of the Party’s national leadership. During the visit, many had begun to patronizingly address Dr. Abbas as “Mr. Speaker” in their speeches. However, His Excellency, the former Chairman, felt it necessary to maintain neutrality until the process was complete.

Abbas was relatively unknown to many—a quiet legislator. The bet was on the “Headboy,” the capable and high-performing Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. But as fate would have it, and with the support of the Emeritus and other giants, Tajudeen Abbas emerged as Speaker in 2023.

This story is not about the speakership race; that tale is for another time, should it ever be recounted. Instead, this is how a relatively unknown legislator turned Speaker has become a unifier, enabler, and statesman. For these reasons, we are proud to announce him as our Legislator of the Year.

Recently, during the announcement of the National Honours, the Senate President was awarded the GCON alongside the Chief Justice, while the Speaker was awarded the CFR—as had been the case with his predecessor. However, this time, the House of Representatives wasn’t having it. They stood their ground and stood with their Speaker until he was awarded the GCON. This is just one of many examples of how Speaker Abbas has earned the unwavering support of his colleagues.

For many of us young leaders, Abbas is a breath of fresh air—a friend of the youth who prioritizes youth engagement, much like his predecessor and current Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila. Gbajabiamila is celebrated for creating the Legislative Mentorship Initiative, which trains and raises the next generation of young leaders.

Abbas has taken youth engagement to another level, regularly consulting young people from indigenous groups, forums of national youth leaders of political parties, and student bodies such as NANS and the National Youth Council of Nigeria. In 2024 alone, Speaker Abbas held several town hall meetings with youth stakeholders, including a recent one in December 2024 to involve them in the budget process.

In 2024, he promised to appoint various Special Assistants to represent the youth ecosystem in his office, with nominees from NANS, NYCN, and other organizations. Today, these nominees have received their appointment letters and resumed their duties.

Speaker Abbas @Speaker_Abbas has been an exceptional legislator who continues to unify the House and retain the support of his colleagues, including those who competed against him for the position of Speaker.

Today, his work speaks for him, from the chambers to his constituency in Zaria. A former classroom teacher who rose to become a senior lecturer, Speaker Abbas held the record for the third-highest number of bills sponsored by a member in the 8th Assembly.

Since his emergence as Speaker about 18 months ago, he has paid considerable attention to the real issues of lawmaking, representation, and oversight. Under his leadership, the House of Representatives has been christened “The People’s House.”

Additionally, the Speaker has prioritized citizen engagement, which is the cornerstone of representative democracy. On July 3, 2024, the Speaker led the House in unveiling its one-year scorecard, titled One Year in the People’s House, as part of the innovative Open Week of the 10th House. During this event, Nigerians from across diverse segments were invited to participate in the House’s first citizens' engagement.

On November 25, 2024, the Speaker personally led several members of the House on a peaceful walk to kickstart the 2024 "16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence." In recognition of his advocacy for women’s issues, UN Women, led by its Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Dr. Maxime Houinato, decorated Speaker Abbas with a badge of honor in December 2024.

Unarguably, the most significant innovation in citizen engagement under Speaker Abbas’s leadership was the first-of-its-kind live citizens' engagement held on Friday, December 20, 2024. Termed State of the House 2024, it was covered and transmitted live by NTA and Channels Television. The event provided a platform for various segments of Nigerians to ask questions regarding the activities of the Green Chamber. The Speaker promised during the event that, just like the youth dialogue, the live citizens' engagement would be held biannually.

It is on this premise that we are delighted to announce Speaker Tajudeen Abbas as the APC National Youth Wing’s Legislator of the Year 2024 (National Category).