Ogun Crisis Worsens as Faction Suspends Speaker

•Egbetokun: It’s illegal

Another drama was yesterday introduced into the prolonged Ogun State political crisis as a faction of the House of Assembly announced the suspension of the Speaker, Hon. Tunji Egbetokun, over what it called “gross misconduct against the state and its citizenry”. He was replaced by Hon. Emmanuel Soyemi Coker.

The new Speaker immediately issued a statement saying the House had suspended with immediate effect Egbetokun along with 14 other members.

He said the action taken by his colleagues and him was “necessitated by the cry of various constituents to bail out Ogun State from lingering crisis that has beset us for the last two to three years”.
The statement, which was signed by 10 members of the House, stated that the state had been thrown into confusion “through the unpatriotic acts of a section of the honourable House of Assembly”.

The suspended lawmakers, according to him, are Egbetokun, Remmy Hazzan, Michael Sewedo, Nasir Isiaka, Adiro Olufemi, Adegboyega Adekunle, Odunjo Odunleye, Olusola Adeboye, Akintan Olufemi, Fatoki Johnson Olu, Adeleye-Oladapo Tunrayo, Oshin Babatunde, Alausa Olawale, Salami Akeem and Abiodun Akovoyon.

But reacting to the development, Egbetokun told journalists that the suspension was illegal, saying “those who said they suspended us are just eight members and even if they were 11, they can’t remove the speaker”.
Addressing journalists in Lagos, along with 13 of the suspended legislators, Egbetokun said the eight lawmakers did not constitute the required quorum to impeach a speaker.

“Section 92 subsection 3 of the constitution provides that, to suspend a speaker will require approval of two-thirds of the members of the House.
“Out of 26 members of the House, only eight were part of the impeachment, which is fewer than what is required to remove a speaker from office,” he said.

Egbetokun described the impeachment as a charade which should be disregarded, maintaining that the House remained adjourned till the end of its recess.
He alleged that the eight legislators impeached him and suspended 14 others at about 6:30am while the House was deliberating on the state’s supplementary budget bill before it.

He also alleged that the eight members came into the assembly complex in company with some policemen.
He added: “I don’t want to join issues with them; we are on top of the situation. The regime of President Goodluck Jonathan will never accommodate this type of illegality. We’ll fight back in the next 24 hours.

According to him, the move was to scuttle the public debate the House called for over the N100 billion bond, noting that “they know the debate will open everything the governor did in the last seven years”.
Meanwhile, the new faction has also reviewed and lifted the suspension of Hon. Titi Oseni and Hon. Omosanya Solaja, saying it was unnecessary and unjust.

It named the new members “elected to lead the state house of assembly”, stressing that “it is a collective decision that legislation is for development and not otherwise”.
They are Hon. Ayo Edwards-Odugbesan (Deputy Speaker), Hon. Tolu Bankole (Majority Leader), Hon. Musa Moruf (Chief Whip), Hon. Abiodun Oluseyi Moses (Deputy Majority Leader) and Hon. Adeleke Salmon (Deputy Chief Whip).

It also approved the 2010 supplementary budget of N26 billion and also vacated the House Resolution 167 barring all financial institutions from giving out loans to the state government.
Other issues resolved by the faction included the nomination of Elder Yemi Akinwonmi who it found suitable to be appointed as a state commissioner.

However, the suspension has continued to generate reactions in the state as the National Coordinator of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Mr. Gani Adams, in a statement in Abeokuta yesterday quoted an African proverb that says “when the shadow of a tree is bent and you want to straighten it, you go for the tree and not the shadow”. He said he was in support of the action in the assembly.

Also, the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commended the new leadership of the assembly on its election of a new leadership.

The state Police Commissioner, Alhaji Musa Daura, who later visited the assembly premises, was also seen at the premises of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) around 11.30am, where a press conference was earlier scheduled. It was later held at the private residence of one of the lawmakers.