Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly have pleaded with the House of Representatives Committee on Safety, Rules and Regulations to wade into the crisis occasioned by the abduction of four of t members and protect them from further harassment by men of the Department of State Services (DSS).
They blamed the crisis the House was facing on evil plots of disgruntled former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members who had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and were working in cahoots with the Federal Government to distabilse the government of Ekiti State.
According to a statement by the Chairman, Ekiti House of Assembly Committee on Communication and Information, Chief Olugboyega Aribisogan, on Tuesday, the appeal was made when members of the House received the House of Representatives Committee, led by the chairman, Honourable Aminu Jaji.
According to the statement the members of the National Assembly arrived the Ekiti Assembly complex in Ado-Ekiti at about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
They proceeded to the office of the Speaker, Right Honourable Kola Oluwawole, where they made enquiries about the genesis of the crisis and the steps taken so far by the Ekiti lawmakers, particularly from key members of the House leadership present.
Addressing the committee and presenting it with the Assembly’s position paper, Pastor Oluwawole said “the invasion of the House of Assembly is also a violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Part 3, Section 331 (4). Also, the Standing Order of the State House of Assembly grants the Speaker the authority to ask anyone who poses a threat to vacate the premises of the House, as contained in Standing Order 104, Page 111.”
He said the House enjoined the committee to “intervene on this matter, with a view to preventing a re-occurrence of this ignoble act. We also urge you to call the Federal Government to respect the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti which ordered the unconditional release of Honourable Afolabi Akanni and ruled against his further arrest.”
Members of the committee also visited some relevant departments of the House of Assembly and had discussions with staff members.
