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How bill cost Ekiti speaker his job
Hon Sola Ajigbolamu, until last week, the
speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, tasted the bitter side of politics as
he was showed the way out of his plum office.Correspondent SUNDAY KUDAISI who
watched the scene, reports that the impeachment of the speaker hallmarked eight
months of intrigues and horse trading over the leadership of the House.
AT last, the
curtain fell. And the target went down with it.
The embattled speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Sola Ajigbolamu, last week
bowed to forces, insistent on shoving him aside.
His removal, now subject of wild
celebration by some in the House, peaked the eight-month intrigues and open duel
between Ajigbolamu and his antagonists who accuse him of running foul of the
Assembly’s many laws.
It all started last year December, exactly
eight months to Honourable Sola Ajigbolamu administration in the state Assembly.
About sixteen of the twenty-six-member Assembly accused the leadership of the
state Assembly of high-handedness, financial recklessness and insensitivity to
their plights. The initial sixteen later rose to nineteen. These aggrieved
lawmakers kicked against the leadership of the House, passed a vote of no
confidence on the speaker and his officers and planned an impeachment of him.
The planned impeachment against the House
leadership could not receive the blessing of the executive governor and the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders, and therefore failed to see the light of
the day. In fact on the day of the planned impeachment, majority of the
lawmakers who came for the onslaught went home bruised. They met brickwall, with
thugs and hundreds of regular and mobile policemen sealing-off the Assembly
premises. While some were brutalised some were smashed, leading others to flee
for their lives.
Since after the failed impeachment bid,
lawmakers in the state Assembly have been living in suspicion of one another.
Debates on the floor of the Assembly were formed along factional lines. Those
who were the main actors in the failed impeachment were denied certain rights
and privileges which other members enjoyed. Worse still, the governor Mr.
Ayodele Fayose approved a two-week overseas tour for only twenty two of the
twenty-six lawmakers. The remaining four members were chided and denied the tour
for their roles in the impeachment of the house leadership.
This wielding of the big stick on the
aggrieved lawmakers not withstanding they refused to break their rank. They
remained a united force, feared by the speaker and other elected officers of the
Assembly. While those in the impeachment faction silently bore their deprivation
of certain goodies, those on the side of the speaker who were also seen as the
governor’s ’boys’ enjoyed largesse of no measure.
However, trouble started again for the
embattled speaker on July 7, when the governor Mr. Ayodele Fayose sponsored a
bill to the state House of Assembly. The bill was meant to give the governor
sweeping powers to remove any elected officer of Local Government on act of
corruption and later seek the ratification of the state Assembly. But the
speaker, who considered the bill as anti-people started mobilising traditional
rulers and leaders of thought to speak with the governor on the implication of
the bill. Besides, Hon. Ajigbolamu also invited speakers of Ondo, Ogun, Oyo and
Osun states to persuade the governor on the bill. The four speakers at the end
of their meeting with the governor did not succeed in their mission.
The state speaker, Hon. Ajigbolamu who was
said to have considered the governor’s bill anti-people, a feeling the other
speaker held allegedly refused to bring the bill for debate on the floor of the
Assembly for two reasons. One, for fear that the bill might sail through. And
secondly that his colleagues who hitherto wanted him impeached might use the
bill against his office to effect his impeachment.
Apparently not comfortable with the
proposition of the bill to the Assembly, the 175 counselors in the sixteen
council areas of the state planned the mother-of-all-march to the Assembly on
July 7, the scheduled date for debate of the bill. But the governor, Mr. Fayose
quickly ordered anti-riot policemen, armed to the teeth, to seal off the
Assembly. A saving grace for the speaker.
Though the governor succeeded in stalling
the counselor’s mother of all march to the Assembly, he was not persuaded in his
mind that the speaker was not working against his bill. And having realised that
the governor was not convinced to change his mind on the bill, the speaker knew
that his job was on the line this time around. As a result of that, Fayose and
the speaker, Ajigbolamu started trading a different route, the old good days
took a flight. While the governor was dogged to ensure the passage of his bill,
the speaker was making efforts to persuade him to drop it.
In fact, the awaited opportunity for those
who hitherto had planned impeachment of the speaker came. Fortunately for them,
the governor was also alleged to have called his boys in the assembly and gave
them his backing to change the leadership of the house.
The final wind of change in the assembly
blew Friday, July, 16, when the majority leader in the House Hon Bobade Kayode
representing Ikere (I) re-echoed the impeachment of the speaker. Unaware that
the whole plan to oust him had been settled before the sitting of the House,
Ajigbolamu called for secondment but before he knew what was happening nineteen
members of the lawmakers had given their approval.
As Ajigbolamu was trying to stall his
impeachment the House was thrown, into commotion. With that rowdy session the
house adjourned sitting till Tuesday, 20 July, 2004. But the table was still
turned against the speaker when the nineteen lawmakers re-convened Monday July
19 a day before the July 20. They met at the parliamentary chamber with the mace
under heavy security. Over 100 combined team of mobile and regular policemen
were on guard when the new speaker was elected. The parliamentary proceeding
which was not more than two hours saw the election of the officers of the state
Assembly.
Other officers are Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun
representing Irepodun/Ifelodun II as Deputy Speaker, Hon. Bobade Kayode Ikere 1
as majority leader, Hon. Tunji Akinyele, Oye II as Deputy majority leader, Hon.
Sunday Eyeowa, Ijero as Chief-whip. And Hon. Muyiwa Abegunde Emure as Deputy
Chief whip, Hon. Kola Fakiyesi Irepodun/Ifelodun II minority leader and Hon. Ayo
Adekoya Benson Ekiti South-West II as minority whip.
In his acceptance speech after their
inauguration Hon. Aderemi who was one of those denied some benefits by the
previous regime in the Assembly promised to give members deserved attention. The
new speakers, while restating the allegations against the former speaker Hon.
Ajigbolamu said the new leadership "will co-operate with the executive and
encourage sustained relationship."
He called on the former speaker and
officers of the Assembly to work together for the benefit of those who elected
them.
The success and the smooth change of the
House leadership no doubt were the voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau at work.
While the former speaker accused Fayose of being the brains behind his woes, the
governor vehemently denied having hands in the impeachment of Hon. Ajigbolamu.
Nevertheless, the shadow which now chases
the new leadership of the state Assembly is the governor’s bill to remove
council elected officers with the stamp of the Assembly. Already, the new
leadership has commenced debate on the bill which the governor had denied on
several occasions that nothing of such existed before the Assembly.
The new team who observers believe is more
radical than the former leadership Thursday July, 22 commenced debate on the
bill. Though many of the lawmakers had kicked against the bill, the new
leadership, rather than seek its outright death is asking for a modification,
saying rather than "removal," it should be "suspension."
The clause in the bills says, "In this
section misconduct means breach of oath of allegiance or oath of office of a
member or a breach of the provision of the other regulation as directed by the
government."
The lawmakers who took serious objection to the removal
clause are seeking suspension power for the governor. Meanwhile, the
controversial bill has been referred to committee stage in the house after
passing through the third reading.
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