Source: .com.ng

The factional Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Dele Olugbemi, tuesday insisted that his colleagues under the banner of Forum of Speakers lacked the constitutional powers to pronounce him an illegal occupant of his seat.

Olugbemi, who said he holds his speaker colleagues in high esteem, emphasised that it was a slight on the generality of Ekiti populace for the forum to have issued a statement rejecting him.

However, the assembly remained calm yesterday and activities went on unhindered as the 19 pro-Omirin lawmakers refused to show up at the complex despite threats emanating from them from far away Lagos that they would attend the Monday’s plenary to take their rightful positions.

The factional speaker spoke in Ado Ekiti yesterday in reaction to the statement issued by the Speakers’ Forum last Friday, insisting that it would continue to recognise the embattled speaker, Hon. Adewale Omirin, as the validly elected speaker.

The forum said the anti-Omirin lawmakers went extra-judicial in removing the embattled speaker and that it won’t recognise Olugbemi on account of the alleged shoddy manner by which he emerged.

Meanwhile, Omirin, who spoke with journalists from Lagos on phone, said his members would only return to Ekiti when the coast is clear, saying nobody was ready to risk his life, owing to palpable tension in the state.

The embattled Speaker alleged that the homes of the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Tunji Orisalade, Hons. Yomi Daramola and Sunday Adu, were ransacked by hooded thugs at the weekend, saying they would only come to the state if they get assurances from Governor Fayose and security agencies.

Lending credence to Olugbemi’s submission, the leader of Government Business, Hon. Samuel Ajibola, said the forum has no reason to reject Olugbemi. Ajibola contended that Omirin’s ouster was in consonance with the 1999 Constitution, contrary to what the APC lawmakers had consistently painted.

Olugbemi said: “The Speakers’ Forum is just a collegiate assemblies, which has no right to grant recognition to any speaker. It doesn’t have the power to say it would not recognise any Speaker.

“It is wrong for the Speaker of Edo or Borno or any other state to start dictating to Ekiti who their Speaker should be. It is whoever is presented by Ekiti that they would recognise. Though, I am not bothered by the threat, but if they do that we shall stop the state’s financial subscription to the forum,” he said.

On the number of lawmakers that can remove the Speaker, Olugbemi said: “Section 11 of the Standing Order allows that one-third of the assembly can conduct a sitting of the assembly. The Constitution allows that two-third of those at the plenary can remove any speaker, those that were absent were not envisaged under this context.

“Section 101 of the Constitution even gave us the power to suspend the standing order and conduct the business of the assembly.
“As I talk to you, three of the 19 being claimed to be loyal to Omirin are working with us while three others have opened talks with us.
Soon, we will become 13-13 in the House,” he stated.

Ajibola who spoke in the same vein said: “I want to believe that it is just a mere rumour because many Speakers had been impeached in Ekiti and in other states and the forum did not come out with any categorical statement.

“What we did by removing Omirin was legitimate and that is why they didn’t show up today (Monday). You can see that there is no police deployment in the House and nothing to suggest that there is crisis or that somebody is being prevented from performing his duty.

“So, Omirin and his APC lawmakers just absconded from duty without reasons,” he said.
Lamenting the siege on his members, Omirin said: “Their intention is to kill three of us so that there could be by-elections in those constituencies for the PDP to have more members in the assembly.

“The constitution prescribed that we are to sit for 181 days in a legislative year, but we enjoy the prerogative as well to regulate our own sittings, particularly in view of the precarious situation we find ourselves.

“With the way things are going, it seems as if Governor Ayodele Fayose does not want us to return to Ekiti. As we speak, thugs are still laying siege at the assembly and it will be wrong to sit under this dangerous situation,” he said.

Nigeria politics becoming joke.

And Jona-daft is so blind to see all this fracas now and later on he is going to say that ''he was unaware''. #GEJMUSTGO

Mr speakers.