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APC lawmakers shun Ekiti assembly for fear of attack

   

Embattled Speaker of the Ekiti State Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin,

For fear of alleged attacks, the 19 Ekiti All Progressives Congress lawmakers on Monday failed to resume legislative duties at the Ekiti House of Assembly, as earlier planned.

The embattled Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin, said the lawmakers would not resume “until the coast is clear” because the Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, did not want them back.

Only the Peoples Democratic Party’s lawmakers were present when journalists visited the assembly on Monday.

The atmosphere in the Assembly appeared peaceful in spite of the fact that police were absent.

The House is made up of 19 APC and seven PDP lawmakers.

The factional Speaker, Dele Olugbemi, told journalists at the Assembly that he remained the authentic Speaker because he was duly elected by 10 of the 26 members of the assembly, having impeached Omirin.

He also criticised the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures for reportedly saying they would not recognise him (Olugbemi) as the Ekiti Speaker.

The CSSL, a forum of Speakers of the 36 Houses of Assembly, had on Friday expressed support for Omirin, describing the emergence of Olugbemi as illegal and unconstitutional.

Olugbemi said, “The so-called Speakers’ forum is a committee of friends. A speaker in Edo or Sokoto or anywhere in the country cannot dictate to us in Ekiti assembly who to elect as the Speaker.

“They have to recognise me, if they don’t recognise me; I will stop the money that goes from here to the forum. Anyway, we are not aware that they said so.”

Olugbemi, who maintained that six APC lawmakers were warming up to join their PDP colleagues, challenged Omirin and other APC lawmakers on self-exile in Lagos to come to Ekiti and parade the 19 lawmakers they claimed were still together.

“If they can parade their 19, I will also parade the 10 and let’s see where the other six I said are warming up to join us would be.

“They are in Lagos to source for money. They don’t have the mace and this is where the law says the state assembly should be. Our members who were with them told me they were going to collect money and I gave them my blessing. At the end of the day, it is going to be 13-13.

“The three that sat with us said they are not going to leave their party but they will cooperate with us to support this government,” Olugbemi added.

But in a telephone interview with journalists in Ado-Ekiti, Omirin, who was still outside the state, accused Fayose of frustrating them from coming back to the state.

He said, “We will not come back until the coast is clear. The governor does not want us to come back and our members that came back to town, government agents went to their houses.

“I have spoken to the Commissioner of Police with regards to this development. He said he was not aware that our members were in town. I have spoken to the Director of State Security, he said he was not in town. They (government agents) were eight and they dressed in hoods. They came in a jeep and stormed the houses of our members.

“We are aware that the governor plans to kill two of our members so that bye-elections can be conducted into their constituencies. We don’t want any of our members to die.

“I have also been informed that they went to my house and went away with government properties. I want to make it clear that my house was burgled. The clerk and the factional Speaker supervised the burgling of my house. I locked my door when I was travelling but they went with a carpenter to my house. The illegal Speaker and every other people that went with him went to my fridge and emptied it. They were the ones that stole government properties.”

Reminded that it would be difficult for the Assembly to meet the required 181 sittings in a year with the APC lawmakers’ continuous absence, Omirin said, “We have a right to regulate our own rules.

“It is the Ekiti people that should beg the governor to allow us to return. We are ready to do our work. The assembly is presently under siege from thugs. Nobody is going to risk his live by coming there.

“Buses of the PDP members and thugs have been mobilised to come to Ado-Ekiti. As soon as the governor guarantees our security, we shall return to the state. I’m a peace loving person. I don’t want crisis in the state.”

Olugbemi, while justifying his election, said the issue of election of the Speaker did not require any specific number. He added, “Nine formed the quorum for sitting.”

He said, “Section 11 of the Standing Order of the House allows one third to be the quorum of the House. Section 101 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, empowers the House to suspend the standing order at any time to discuss a serious issue.”

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