Ogun Assembly crisis deepens as G15 sits in Ijebu-Ode

The protracted crisis rocking the Ogun State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, took another dimension as the Group of 15 legislators, suspended on Monday last week by nine legislators loyal to the state governor, Chief Gbenga Daniel was reported to have held a plenary session in Ijebu-Ode, where a vote of no confidence was passed in the governor.

The G15, led by Honourable Tunji Egbetokun, during the session accused Governor Daniel of being the brains behind the entire crisis rocking the legislative arm since the impeachment of Honourable Titi Oseni, in May 2008.

The lawmakers, in the resolution passed during the sitting, accused the governor of aiding and abetting illegality in the state and for non-compliance with the state laws and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The resolution read: ”The House resolved and passed a vote of no confidence in the governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel for aiding and abetting illegality in the state, for mismanaging of public funds, for sponsoring violence and violent gangs in the state and for non-compliance with state laws and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The lawmakers also resolved that the standing order of the House be suspended indefinitely.

The G-15 lawmakers were reported to have called on the state Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Musa Daura and the Director of the State Security Service (SSS), to order the immediate arrest and prosecution of the nine lawmakers, who they accused of breaking into the hallowed chamber of the House to hold what they described as “illegal sitting” on Monday last week.

One of the resolutions of the G-15 was the indefinite suspension of the Speaker, Honourable Soyemi Coker and other principal officers of his group, including the deputy speaker, Mr Ayo Edward-Odugbesan, Majority Leader, Honourable Tolulope Bankole and Honourable Abiodun Oluseyi Moses.

Other lawmakers in the G-9 faction/including Honourables David Kojeku, Musa Maruf, Joseph Adegbesan and Salmon Adeleke got three months suspension each.

The G-15 also declared the seats of Honourable Titi Oseni and Honourable Omosanya Solaja, who were suspended by the Egbetokun-led leadership but were recalled by the nine lawmakers at their sitting last week, vacant.

It added, “The House resolved that in line with Section 109 of the Nigerian Constitution that the seat of the following members Hon. Titi Oseni and Omosanya Solaja be declared vacant by the Speaker and it has been so declared.”

They urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct bye-election to fill the two vacant seats.

The Majority Leader in the G-15 faction, Honourable Michael Fasinu, who spoke with newsmen on the telephone, confirmed that the group met, saying that they has done nothing unusual by sitting outside the hallowed chamber.

He contended that the House, on two occasions, sat at the Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, where Governor Daniel was present, stating that there was an already a laid down precedent to what they did.

Fasinu explained that the important issue in the matter was the mace which was the House’s symbol of authority, adding that they used the mace at their Tuesday’s sitting.

In a swift reaction, the deputy speaker in the G-9 faction, Honourable Ayo Edward-Odugbesan, said the purported sitting of the 15 suspended lawmakers was a comedy — “Baba Sala show,” adding that the only authorised place for members of state legislature to sit was the state House of Assembly.

According to him, “anything contrary is null and void and should be disregarded, as stated by the Supreme Court in Joshua Dariye’s case.

“If they are not satisfied with the decision of Ogun State House of Assembly, where they were suspended on Monday last week, they should go to court. Also they cannot sit without the Clerk, the mace (which is within the assembly complex) and the staff of the assembly who are to write the reports/hazards.

“The legislature makes laws, the judiciary interprets and the executive implements. Who will implement law/resolution made in “beer parlour” in Ijebu Ode?”

Employees of Ogun House of Assembly were again on Tuesday barred from entering the Assembly complex by policemen.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the workers were prevented from resuming work on Monday after the Sallah break.

Ogun crisis: ACN aspirant advocates change in governance

A governorship aspirant under the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria in Ogun State, Mr. Kayode Soyinka, has urged the people to consider the ongoing political crisis rocking the state as a good opportunity to effect desired change and progress which had been made impossible by the Peoples Democratic Party-led government in the last eight years.


Soyinka, who had consistently advocated the return of Ogun State to the progressive fold, described the long-drawn battle between the executive and legislative arms in the state as not only unfortunate but shameful, given that the state had produced illustrious citizens in various spheres of life who have done the country proud locally and internationally.


The ACN aspirant, whose campaign theme is “Rebirth 2011”, said that the present leadership in the state has failed to show the sense of responsibility required to rescue the people from the debilitating poverty which has grinded the state’s economy to a virtual halt.