The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Gboyega Aribisogan has accused the immediate past governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi of masterminding his impeachment.
He accused him of working with members of the state legislators to cause rancor in the state assembly.
Aribisogan said this while featuring on Channels Television’s live programme, Sunday Politics.
This comes days after security operatives sealed off the assembly complex on the suspicion that mayhem could be unleashed on the facility, following Aribisogan’s emergence as Speaker on Tuesday.
The Speaker, however, placed the blame on Fayemi, querying the former governor for failing to acknowledge him since his election as Speaker.
“The majority of members of Assembly voted for me but few of them who felt perhaps I did not follow the directive of the former governor, Dr Fayemi, thought that they would make the state ungovernable for even the administration,”
“I didn’t have any quarrel with him. I sent a message to him last night asking, ‘What is happening? Am I no longer one of your loyalists? Why did you not congratulate me?’
“Up till now that I’m speaking with you, he has not done anything, otherwise, he has been going around calling our members to go and impeach me tomorrow. That is the truth.
“As I’m speaking with you, seven of our members are locked up in the Fem Guest House in Ado Ekiti, planning on how to impeach me tomorrow in cahoots with some of his former aides like the former commissioner for justice.”
However, Chief Press Secretary to Ekiti State Governor, Yinka Oyebode, dismissed the allegations as an in-house conflict among the legislative officials which he believed would be resolved amicably.
“What is playing out in the state House of Assembly is purely legislative affairs. I want to believe that the leadership of the house and also the leadership of the party will resolve it amicably.
“The information we have and that the police reported about the locking up of the place is that some hoodlums were about burning down the place a couple of days ago and because of that, some of them were even chased away while some jerrycans of fuel and cutlasses were recovered from them,” he said.
Oyebode noted that the executive arm of government did not have much to do with the matter as the House of Assembly members were elected representatives of the people of their constituencies.
“They are there to make laws for orderliness in the state. I believe they are up to the task to resolve it amicably among themselves.
“The stance of the governor is that he’s a democrat and he’s the head of the government. He also believes there is separation of power and every arm of government has a measure of independence,” CPS said.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana has asked the police authorities and Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji to intervene in the crisis rocking the state House of Assembly.
Falana, in a statement, called on the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Moronkeji Adesina, to provide security for the state legislators to carry out their constitutional duties.
He commended the police boss for intervening in what would have resulted in a crisis following the election of the new Speaker. The senior lawyer believes that opening the assembly complex will enable the legislators to attend to matters of utmost importance.
“Even though the election of the new leaders of the House was adjudged fair and free the Ekiti State Police Command was reported to have sealed off the House of Assembly complex based on intelligence report that some disgruntled elements were planning to set it ablaze and attack the democratically elected leaders of the House.
“We call on the Police Chief to provide adequate security for the members of the House to discharge their constitutional duty of enacting laws for the State and attend to matters of urgent importance.
“We are compelled to advise the Chief Security Officer of Ekiti State, Governor Biodun Oyebanji to take charge and ensure the immediate restoration of law and order in the House of Assembly to enable him to present the 2022 Appropriation Bill of the state,” Falana said.
