Members of the opposition parties in the Oyo State House of Assembly allegedly boycotted the special sitting held by the state’s assembly to commemorate the second year anniversary.
The Oyo State House of Assembly comprises 32 members, while the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has 26, All Progressives Congress (APC) has five members and African Democratic Party (ADP) with only one female member.
Though, reason for the alleged boycott has not been disclosed, however, a source within the assembly, revealed that it is not unconnected with “laughable” financial status of the lawmakers not only in the opposition parties but also in the ruling party.
The source refused to disclose how much the lawmakers are entitled to and how much they are getting. The source further said that there is no way the lawmakers could achieve their financial autonomy from the executive, noting that that is the only way the lawmakers can submit to governors.
PDP members, however, refused to let nonappearance of the opposition members spoil the celebration of their second year anniversary as they passed a vote of confidence on Governor Seyi Makinde.
The lawmaker representing Ona-Ara state constituency and Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Muhammed Abiodun Fadeyi moved the motion and seconded by Hon. Adeola Bamidele from Iseyin/Itesiwaju constituency.
The Speaker, Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, in his anniversary remarks, said that with various challenges confronting the nation, there could not have been a better time than now for the nation to hearken to the call for restructuring of the country.
He added that the restructuring should commence with the review of the 1999 Constitution.
Hon. Ogundoyin noted that the federal government was having too much power, saying that it should devolve some power to state and local councils.
According to him, some items on the exclusive list should move to the concurrent legislative list.
“There’s too much concentration of power at the center. As a House we are saying that some items in the exclusive legislative list like, item 2 (Arms, Ammunition and Explosives), item 3 (Aviation), item 39 (Mines and Minerals), item 45 (Police and other security Agencies), item 55 (Railways), and item 63 (Traffic on Federal Trunk Roads) should be moved to concurrent and residual legislative lists.
“I believe if restructuring is done, states and local governments will have the power to effectively manage their internal security using state and local police. This means each state will be able to tackle its security challenges headlong. I want to stress that most of the items on the exclusive legislative list would be more efficiently managed at the state and local levels, he stated.
While highlighting the achievements of the 9th Oyo State House of Assembly in the last two years, Hon Ogundoyin said the state’s assembly had passed a total of 56 bills, and made 83 resolutions.
This, he maintained, was aside from the various oversight functions carried out by the Lawmakers.
“We would have achieved much more in the year under review but for the break occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the strike action by the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN). May I reiterate that we will not compromise on our constitutional responsibility of Law making adequate representation and effective oversights,” Speaker said
He equally acknowledged the support Governor Seyi Makinde has given to the Oyo State House of Assembly, noting that the harmonious working relationship that existed between the Executive, Legislature, and the Judiciary in the State was second to none.
Hon. Ogundoyin also appreciated all the management and staff of the Oyo State House of Assembly for their commitment to duty.
It will be recalled that the 9th Assembly was inaugurated on 10th June, 2019.
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