31st December, 2015
Eromosele Ebhomele
The House pardoned him on Thursday, hours before the New Year, after considering his plea to be forgiven in a letter he sent to the House at the middle of 2015.
The resolution to pardon him followed the adoption of the recommendation of the eight-man Ad Hoc Committee constituted on 2 July, to review the circumstances that led to impeachment of Pedro.
Passing a vote of confidence on Pedro, the House said that the allegations that led to his impeachment were not connected to criminal charges.
“In line with Rule 51 (6) of the Business, Rules and Standing Orders of the Lagos State House of Assembly, the committee recommends that this House should by a substantive motion review the impeachment passed on Otunba Femi Pedro on Thursday May 10, 2007 by the 5th Assembly.
“Pardon him and pass a vote of confidence on him as a fit and proper person that can be entrusted with political and administrative responsibilities,” the ad-hoc committee, headed by the Majority Leader of the House, Sanai Agunbiade, said in the report.
While thirty-six members of the House supported the pardon, one lawmaker voted against it and another abstained.
While commenting on the motion before it was approved by the House, Rotimi Olowo, who heads the House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, aligned himself to the call for the House to reverse the impeachment to make the ex-deputy governor to live a normal life.
Olowo, while arguing that Pedro had shown remorse and needed to be forgiven, added: “to err is human, to forgive is divine.
“Pedro has shown much remorse and obedience; let’s pardon him to have his sanity back.
“Pedro has passed through much psychological trauma.”
Segun Olulade, who chairs the House Committee on Health, commended the ad-hoc committee for the recommendation to have the impeachment reversed.
Olulade, who commended Pedro for withdrawing court cases challenging his removal to allow the Assembly wade into the matter, urged his colleagues to forgive Pedro and allow him contribute to the society.
Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, who chairs the Committee on Judiciary, Public Petition and LASIEC, agreed with the report of the ad-hoc committee, stressing that all the allegations against Pedro were not criminal.
“The former deputy governor has displayed a lot of maturity and honourable behaviour. His name has to be clear. He is a man of integrity and we should clear him of the allegations,” she said.
In his response, Speaker Mudashiru Obasa said that the House had not absolved Pedro of the allegation but decided to pardon him for being remorseful.
Obasa said that since Pedro was not convicted of any crime by any court of law, the Assembly had decided to pardon him and undo the impeachment served on him in 2007.
Pedro was impeached in 2007 at the twilight of the Bola Tinubu administration for alleged gross misconducts.
But Pedro wrote to the House years after pleading that the lawmakers should reconsider the impeachment.