18th November, 2014
Jamiu Yisa
Reactions have continued to trail the sidelining of 19 members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly by seven members who convened a sitting of the House on Monday.
During the kangaroo siting, the group of seven PDP lawmakers backed by well armed policemen, claimed they had ‘elected’ a new Speaker in place of the substantive Speaker, Adewale Omirin, and went ahead to approve Governor Ayodele Fayose’s commissioners-designate and the aides the governor appointed.
In its reaction, the All Progressives Congress, APC, raised the alarm over “a PDP-led and police-backed acts of impunity in Ekiti State, where only seven members of the 26-strong House of Assembly on Monday morning convened the House to carry out an agenda, dictated by Governor Ayodele Fayose, that includes the impeachment of the Speaker.”
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said over 200 armed policemen are currently offering protection to the seven PDP members of the House, who convened purposely to impeach the Speaker, approve the list of Commissioners-designate as well as the Caretaker Committees for the local councils in the state.
“The issue of the Caretaker Committees, which Governor Ayodele Fayose plans to swear in on Monday after the illegal approval by the House, is sub judice, hence the House cannot even discuss it not to talk of acting on it. Also, while the Governor was advised by the Clerk of the House that seven members out of 26 do not form a quorum, he said after all, only eight of 24 members in the Plateau House of Assembly impeached then Governor Joshua Dariye in 2006!’’ it said.
APC said that ahead of what is clearly the height of impunity by a democratically elected government, the utility services in the official residence of the House Speaker, including electricity supply, have been cut off while his salaries and allowances have been stopped. Others acts of intimidation have been directed at the Speaker by the state authorities.
‘’We know that President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the leader of the PDP, has elevated impunity to an art, but he has simply overreached himself with his party’s latest show of shame in Ekiti. The fact that the President’s body language supports impunity has emboldened officials elected under the banner of the PDP and appointed by his administration to perpetrate acts of impunity with impunity.
‘’Over 200 policemen could not have been deployed for this illegal act in Ekiti without the knowledge of the Inspector General of Police. Yet, the same IG trampled the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by assuming the powers of the court to unilaterally withdraw the security detail of House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal.
‘’Can the IG claim not to be aware that his men are offering protection to only seven out of the 26 members of the Ekiti House of Assembly? Does he honestly believe it is part of the responsibility of the police, which is being funded by tax payers, to become the enforcement arm of the PDP? Does he believe that the police that is empowered to enforce the law should play a lead role in breaking it?’’ the party queried.
APC also warned that while a lot of unconstitutional and illegal activities have taken place under the PDP-led Federal Government, including the impeachment of then Gov Joshua Dariye of Plateau State by only eight out of 24 members of the State House of Assembly, any decision taken by only seven PDP members in the 26-member Ekiti House of Assembly will not stand.
The party called on the PDP and the Federal Government to stop instigating crisis in APC-controlled states, saying the PDP-instigated crisis in the Edo State House of Assembly has yet to subside before the anarchic ruling party decided to pounce on Ekiti.
“No matter how long it takes, those who are willfully flouting the laws of the land and engaging in anti-democratic actions will come to justice. Nothing in the world will justify the subversion of the Constitution by anyone, especially those who are democratically-elected. We are therefore warning the puppeteers in Ekiti to put a leash on their dogs of war, and not to set Ekiti state ablaze over their narrow interests,’’ it said
All Progressives Congress House of Representatives aspirant for Ojo Federal Constituency, Mubashiru Hasssan, described the Ekiti State illegality as a show of shame, adding that the state governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose is a leopard that can never change its spot.
“It means that Fayose will never change from his old ways. He has not learnt his lessons. If he has, he won’t lead such illegality and approving what should not be approved. Is that how to govern?
“Ekiti State is on its own. Whatever happens in Ekiti ends in Ekiti because its a PDP governed state. My fear is that Nigerians don’t learn from history,” said the immediate past Lagos State Auditor General for local governments.
PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr Taofeek Gani refused to comment on the issue, saying that all that was reported by the media were conflicting reports.
“My brother, there were no authencity in all the reports. The electronic media says and the newspapers says something else. All we heard were conflicting reports,” he said.