The ousted speaker of the Ekiti state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Adewale Omirin, on Friday said that the 19 All Progressives Congress members of the assembly held a plenary in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, and suspended the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Dele Olugbemi, and the six lawmakers loyal to him.
They all belong to the ruling party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party. Adewale, who did not disclose where the sitting was held, however, said that it was a normal sitting presided over by him, with the mace of the assembly in place.
But no journalist was at the sitting. Omirin, who disclosed this to journalists on the telephone, promised that he would invite journalists to cover subsequent sittings. At the sitting, Omirin said the lawmakers also nullified all legislative activities carried out by the PDP lawmakers, including the receipt and consideration of the 2015 Appropriation Bill presented by Governor Ayo Fayose on Monday before the seven PDP lawmakers.
They also resolved to relocate the sittings of the House to the campus of the Ekiti State University, citing the “situation of the state” in the last one month and the taking over of the Assembly complex by thugs and miscreants.
The embattled speaker said the APC lawmakers also voted in favour of local government autonomy in the ongoing constitutional amendment being carried out in the country.
The Assembly also voted for the autonomy of the legislature. Other constitutional amendments that received the legislative approval of the lawmakers are Section 8 of the Constitution, which confers citizenship rights and privileges on Nigerians anywhere they are living in the country. Olugbemi and the six PDP lawmakers had impeached Omirin and his deputy, Hon. Adetunji Orisalade, on November 20 and received the 2015 budget estimate from Governor Ayo Fayose on December 15.
Omirin said the PDP lawmakers were suspended for violating Section 96 (1) of the Constitution. He gave the names of those suspended as Olugbemi (Ikole 2), Abeni Olayinka (Ado 2), Adeyinka Adeloye (Ikole 1), Alexander Adeojo (Ekiti Southwest 2), Olowo Ajiboye (Oye 2), Mr. Dele Ajibola (Ekiti East 2) and Mrs. Ayo Olajide-Fatunbi (Moba 2) for violating Section 96 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Omirin said the APC legislators also resolved to declare null and void “the unconstitutional and illegal sittings” conducted by the PDP lawmakers. Omirin maintained that the seven PDP lawmakers who sat did not form a quorum.
The actions of the seven lawmakers nullified included “the unlawful approval of the dissolution and reconstitution of the caretaker committee members for the 16 local government councils in the state and the approval of the list of commissioner nominees and special advisers.
Also nullified was the removal of Omirin and Orisalade as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively, the revocation of some bills duly passed by the House and the receipt of the 2015 Appropriation Bill. Omirin added that the APC lawmakers passed a vote of confidence in him and the constitutionally recognized leadership of the House.
