Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State yesterday declared that President Goodluck Jonathan “has a moral role to play” in the anomaly in Ekiti State where the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin was impeached by seven lawmakers.
Fashola called for President Jonathan’s intervention when 19 lawmakers elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) protested Omirin’s impeachment at the Lagos House, Ikeja.
The Governor, who described what happened in Ekiti State as unconstitutional, said there “are rules in the house about how the leader emerges and how he could be removed. Sometimes this contest gets intense. But the truth must be the truth.”
He consequently stated that Jonathan “has a moral role now to play on this issue. This conflict is formed on partisan confrontation. As the leader of one side, I hope he will perform the leadership role required in this issue.”
The Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, who also spoke during the protest, lamented the violation of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended), noting that such practice should not be encouraged.
He said: “We were shocked when we learnt seven members of Ekiti State House of Assembly purportedly removed the speaker and other principal officers of the house. The assembly consists of 26 members and how seven members will form a quorum is still a mystery.
“How seven members removed the speaker and other principal officers of the assembly makes us to believe that the omen is very bad for the country’s democracy. We quickly convened an emergency sitting.
“At the sitting, we condemned the action of the seven lawmakers. We also condemned the activities of the Inspector General of Police in Ekiti State and at the National Assembly on Thursday.
“I was surprised that the man who claimed to have experience in government could be perpetrating this illegality. He came on air to tell Nigerians that he has approved the appointment of the new speaker. To us this isn’t a good sign for the country’s democracy.
“Nigerians are worried and we as lawmakers are also worried. We want you Fashola to convey our letter to the president. A lot of things are happening that required the president to wake up from slumber and uphold the constitution of the country,” Ikuforiji explained.
Speaking on behalf protesting lawmakers who paraded a big banner with inscription, ‘Democracy in Danger,’ the majority leader of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Churchill Adedipe, said that the crisis started with the incumbent Governor, who ‘blackmailed’ them in public.
Stressing that the impeachment was sponsored by the governor after they refused to approve the list of commissioners and other aides sent by the governor, Adedipe said, “We did not see the people the governor forwarded their name to us. We decided to adjourn the sitting till the next day to allow the house do its findings. This alone infuriated the incumbent governor.”
It was reported that the embattled Speaker, Omirin have headed to court to secure his seat, insisting that due process for change of leadership in the assembly were not followed as only seven lawmakers, who did not form a quorum allegedly perpetrated the illegality.
Comments