There
was a sudden twist of events in the Ekiti State House of Assembly as
the Peoples Democratic Party’s lawmakers appointed Mr. Dele Olugbemi as
Protem Speaker to preside over the plenary on Monday.
As early as 7 am, armed policemen were
stationed at the Assembly with an Armor Personnel Carrier blocking the
entrance to the Assembly.
The PDP lawmakers cited the absence of
the Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin, and his deputy, Taiwo Orisalade, as
reasons for the appointment of the Acting Speaker for the day’s
business.
Although the PDP has seven members in
the Assembly, 10 persons attended the plenary on Monday including three
whose identities remained unknown as of press time.
But the All Progressives Congress
maintained that only seven members of the Assembly, mainly PDP members,
sat at the plenary when it required nine members to form a quorum.
The Speaker has also vowed to challenge all the decisions taken by the PDP Caucus in court.
In a statement by its State Publicity
Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, in Ado-Ekiti, the party accused Fayose of
compelling the seven-member PDP caucus to sit and do his bidding.
The statement reads, “In his
characteristic manner, Fayose this morning went to the hallowed chamber
in company of armed soldiers and policemen, dreadfully garbed, and
unleashed terror on the innocent assembly workers, forced his way in and
compelled his 7-man PDP house members to sit and do his bidding.
“We condemn the act in its entirety
and we call on all well-meaning Nigerians to support our clarion call to
call Governor Fayose to order. We have not minced words to point out
the series of constitutional infringements being committed by Fayose as
Ekiti State Governor and this is just one in many. We are cocksure that
this impunity will not stop.
“We also learnt that realising that it
would require nine members to form a quorum in a 26-member house,
Fayose also brought some strange men into the hallowed chamber to
impersonate Honourable Assembly members in his attempt at ensuring a
constituted quorum.
“He insisted that they must appoint a
speaker among them and go ahead with legislative matters, forgetting
that the house doesn’t hold plenaries on Monday. How bad can an impunity
be?
“We condemn in categorical terms
Fayose’s lawlessness and executive recklessness. His bully and
arm-twisting tactics know no bounds and he is acting like an emperor who
cannot be stopped. He has hijacked and pocketed the Judiciary and he
believes there is nothing stopping him from taking over the legislative
functions, as long as his gun-totting soldiers are at his beck and
call.”
The PDP caucus at the plenary confirmed the appointment of three commissioner nominees.
They are Owoseni Ajayi, Commissioner
for Justice and Attorney General; Mr. Kayode Oso as Commissioner for
Works and Transport, and Chief Toyin Ojo as Commissioner for Finance.
It also approved the list of the Caretaker Committees for the 16 Local Governments.
Source: Punch Newspaper.
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