Adebayo Adenrele
…as Aribisogan declares himself still the Speaker
The former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi has condemned the allegations making the rounds that the impeachment of Gboyega Aribisogan as the Speaker of Ekiti Assembly was masterminded by him.
Fayemi, in a statement said he didn’t interfere with the affairs of the Plenary.
He said: “We note the allegation by the former Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr. Gboyega Aribisogan, that his impeachment was masterminded by Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the immediate past Governor of the State.
“We wish to clarify that Dr. Fayemi had nothing to do with the removal of the former Speaker by his peers as this was the internal arrangement of the State House of Assembly.
“We wish to note that even as Governor, Dr. Fayemi did not interfere with the independence of the House and respected the principle of separation of powers where the House had
freedom to decide on their internal affairs. “
However the embattled Speaker, Hon Gboyega Aribisogan has described his impeachment by the Lawmakers opposed to him as a nullity, boasting that he remains the Leader of the Assembly.
“While we urge Ekiti people to be watchful, they should remain calm in the face of the gross subversion of democratic principles which took place in the House of Assembly today. We remain confident that justice and the rule of law will prevail.
“The general public must note that Order II, Rule 9 of the House Rules clearly prescribed that before the Speaker can be removed from office, he must be served with a formal notice of allegations and given a period of 72 hours to respond.
“The Rules further state that such response will be reviewed by an Adhoc Committee set up by the House for that purpose before a vote on impeachment of the Speaker can be taken on the floor of the House.
“The unlawful assembly of today was so stepped in illegality that the disgruntled members did not care to pretend to comply with these Rules in carrying out the purported impeachment of the Speaker.
“It should also be noted that the members present at the unlawful assembly did not meet the statutory number of seventeen which the House Rules state can impeach a Speaker. If the
disgruntled members dispute this fact, they should ask provide the video recordings of today’s sham proceedings.
“Ekiti people are aware that the House of Assembly adjourned sitting sine die after the election of Rt. Hon. Aribisogan as Speaker on 15th November, 2022. Our people are also aware that a detachment of armed policemen took over the premises of the Assembly Complex since the early hours of Wednesday, 16th November thereby preventing the legislature from undertaking its constitutionally prescribed duties.
“This morning, seven disgruntled members of the House were shepherded into the Assembly Chamber by the policemen for a session that can only be described as an unlawful gathering and definitely not a plenary sitting because, the gathering was not convened in accordance with Order V, Rule 18 (1) of the House Rules.
“In view of the fact that the presence of the members in the Chamber was in contradiction of the House Rules, the purported impeachment of Mr. Speaker and suspension of seven members is illegal, ultra vires, null and void and of no effect.
“The actions are not legally sustainable and would definitely be quashed be a court of competent jurisdiction.” he stated.
