22nd November, 2022
By Idowu Ariwodola
Gov. Biodun Oyebanji on Tuesday openly spoke on the crisis that has rocked the Ekiti State House of Assembly for the past one week, explaining why he did not interfere in the crisis.
said on Tuesday at Ado-Ekiti that he did not interfere in the crisis that engulfed the state’s House of Assembly in the last couple of days.
The crisis culminated in the impeachment Gboyega Aribisogan as the Speaker of the House of Assembly after just one week in office and election of Mrs Bunmi Adelugba, its first female speaker as replacement on Monday.
Speaking when members of the Assembly presented Adelugba and executives of the ruling All Progressive Party (APC) to him on Tuesday, Gov Oyebanji said he did not interfere because of his belief in separation of powers.
Oyebanji said he decided to stay off the crisis so as to give the legislative arm the full Constitutional rights it has to administer itself without interference.
He also described the crisis as a family affair that could be resolved amicably without external interference.
Oyebanji assured the new speaker of his support, but reminded her of the need to work on the speedy passage of the state’s 2023 budget.
The governor thanked leaders of the APC for their intervention and for their efforts at resolving the issue, politically.
Presenting the speaker earlier, the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Akeem Jamiu, described the crisis that broke out in the House in the last few days as an embarrassment to members of the APC in the state and to the people of Ekiti generally.
He said the House presented the new speaker to the governor as a mark of honour and respect for his exalted office.
He said the House had corrected what he called an “anomaly’’ in the Assembly, and gave assurance that the House, under the new leadership, would continue to maintain peace.
In her remarks, Adelugba expressed appreciation to all members of the House and to APC executives in the state for her emergence as the new speaker.
She described the process that led to her becoming the speaker, as “a peaceful one’’ and promised to always maintain allegiance to the Constitution and to the people of Ekiti.
Similarly, APC Chairman in Ekiti, Mr Paul Omotosho, distanced the party from the crisis that paralysed activities in the House in the last few days.
“Let me remark here that the party does not have interest in who becomes the leader of the House; all what the party wanted was peace, and how the state would move forward,’’ he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
ARIS/ALLI