Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose yesterday
ordered the House of Assembly Speaker’s office
shut.
Speaker Adewale Omirin’s spokesman Mr. Wole
Olujobi said some men, acting on the governor’s
directive, came to the office about 4pm, sealed it
off and seized the Speaker’s official cars’ keys
from the drivers, who were told to go home.
On Monday, seven of the 26-member House sat at
the chamber, without the speaker and the deputy
speaker.
Protected by policemen and a band of thugs, they
“approved” the governor’s three commissioner-
nominees and the list of members of caretaker
committees for the 16 local government councils.
The rule of the House allows a minimum of nine-
member quorum. To make up, “three strange
people” joined the seven lawmakers.
But the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr.
Idowu Adelusi, denied the sealing off of the
Speaker’s office. He described it as “another
falsehood coming from a confused speaker”.
“We all know that the governor could not have
ordered the speaker’s office be sealed up (sic)
because the existence of Adewale Omirin is
insignificant to us and the people of Ekiti State
having lost the honour.
“Besides that, Omirin’s driver is under the
Assembly Commission, which could employ,
promote, transfer or sack drivers and other staff
of the legislature.
“What does the happening in the legislature or
operations at the Assembly by the commission
got to do with Governor Fayose? Omirin is totally
confused and Ekiti people are fed up with their
lies. His cries now is (sic) a ranting of an ant, he
should be ignored totally.”
The governor had earlier ordered the freezing of
the accounts of the Assembly, cutting off
electricity supply to the Speaker’s Lodge and
stopping statutory votes for the Speaker’s
upkeep.
The governor also sacked the Speaker’s and
Deputy Speaker’s and Majority Leader’s aides.
Fayose condemned the All Progressives Congress
(APC) lawmakers for “seeking to consolidate the
interests of their party rather than the general
interest of the people.”
Speaking through the Special Assistant on
Information, Mr Lanre Ogunsuyi, Fayose alleged
that the APC lawmakers were unpatriotic by
trying to ‘arm-twist’ him in passing the list of
commissioner-nominees.
“We expect the Assembly to see themselves as
representing Ekiti people and they shouldn’t have
the House platform to advance party’s interests.
We are not justifying the situation, but Fayose
cannot be blamed for self-inflicted injuries Dr.
Adewale Omirin brought onto himself.”
Fayose urged the Speaker to “stop misdirecting
himself over his woes”, noting that it was also
impossible for the governor to freeze the
Assembly’s accounts as he did not operate
them. “They have their banks. We are not going
to freeze anybody’s accounts,” he said.
Fayose urged the Speaker to look “inwards” in
resolving the crisis, noting that the troubles with
him pre-date the coming of his administration.
“We don’t expect the telationship to be smoth
because of party differences and the lawmakers
have a right to reject Fayose only if that is on the
basis and interest of Ekiti people but not to do
so for the interest of APC.
“The Speaker was not in any way removed as
being rumoured. Members of the House of
Assembly and even the National Assembly used
to
have causes to change their leadership. It is not a
new thing in our political history.
“In Edo State, the APC lawmakers hold their
sittings in the Government
House while the PDP holds separate sittings.
Even in Rivers, Judiciary and the House have
been experiencing similar problems.
“They ordinarily ought to pass the Attorney
General for Ekiti to sign agreement on contracts
and for the Commissioner of Works to execute
them and without the Commissioner for Finance,
Ekiti cannot access the N2 billion loan from the
Central Bank of Nigeria. Something honourable
for any House to have done is to pass this
without any controversy.”
Ogunsuyi also insisted that the fact that only 16
members attended the news conference in Ikere-
Ekiti was a confirmation that 10 members of the
Assembly sat on Monday in the absence of the
substantive Speaker to ratify Fayose’s list of
commissioner-nominees, special advisers and the
allowance to constitute council caretaker
committees. “If you agree that 16 were there at
the meeting, look for the names of those who
were not there and you would know the identities
of the three lawmakers that enabled PDP to form
a quorum,” he said.
On the sack of Speaker’s aides, the governor
said: “It was the same House during the
immediate past administration that passed the
Law which empowers the Governor to fire and
hire aides for the Speaker and his Deputy and
even aides to Local Government Chairmen. So,
this Assembly enacted the law I applied as
already applied by the last administration.
His words: “I even learnt that he said the
electricity supply to his House has been cut . It
smacks of insensitivity for a number three man to
be crying wolf over this when the same
government he served is indebted to the
electricity company to the tune of N133 million.”
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