Barring any change of plans, a clique in Ekiti State is planning to remove the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye.
Members of this clique claimed responsibility for the emergence of the present leadership of the Ekiti State House of Assembly including the present Speaker.
According to investigations by this medium, they had grudgingly accepted the present Speaker to be installed because he is seen as a loyalist of former Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi.
Our correspondent gathered that this same clique ignored the Standing Rule of the House during the inauguration of the present Assembly.
The Standing Rule, which is the adopted Rule for Houses of Assembly in the Southwest, stated that only ranking members could be nominated for principal positions like Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Majority Leader etc. However, on the day of inauguration of the House in early June, 2023, out of the 9 ranking members that returned to the house, including an immediate past Deputy Speaker, only one ranking member was nominated as Speaker and that is the present Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye while the remaining principal officers from the Deputy Speaker to the Chief Whip were nominated from fresh members, which is grossly against the Standing Rule of the House.
Our reporter learnt further that the reason for this was borne out of the fact that it was the way the government wanted it because the clique advised that returning members were more loyal to the immediate past government even though it is the same party.
Our correspondent also learnt that majority of the new lawmakers were camped overnight at Efon Alaaye house of one of the clique who is a former Deputy Speaker, where the whole plan for the following day’s inauguration was perfected.
The plan succeeded as no protest came from the ranking members except some murmurs and some questions that were asked by observers but all these were quickly doused by the party and many did not pay attention to this infraction because the governor enjoys the support of the people.
The present lawmakers have spent 18 months, and many things have changed.
The initial plan of the clique was to remove the Speaker after six months because he was not their original choice.Their original choice is another member from the Ekiti North Senatorial district, but this was becoming increasingly impossible. This is because contrary to their expectations that the Speaker will be their poodle, the reverse has been the case as the Speaker has been very independent minded and enjoys the support of his colleagues.
The first shocker for the clique was when the appointment of the Clerk of the House was made by the Speaker. The clique wanted a particular candidate, but the Speaker and his colleagues preferred another candidate whom they believed they could work with. The clique felt slighted and thickened its plan to remove the Speaker, but it was difficult because they did not have the numbers as the majority of the lawmakers were solidly behind the Speaker.
The second allegation against the Speaker who doubles as the Chairman, Conference of Speakers, Southwest is that he leads the campaign for legislative autonomy and he demonstrated this at the recent meeting of Southwest Speakers which he hosted at Ikogosi where the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu was present as the chairman of the occasion. The Speaker was also accused by the clique of introducing e- parliament with attendant live coverage of its sittings. The most serious offense of the Speaker, according to the clique, is the recent account of stewardship rendered to the House of Assembly by Local Government Chairmen, Commissioners, and Head of Agencies which was beamed live. The clique is not happy about this because some of them are Commisioners and they felt insulted to stand before the house in front of live camera even though the Speaker and members are performing their constitutionally backed oversight function.
The latest plan by the clique who have started recruiting some members of the house into the plan, is to prevent majority of the members who will not key into the plan from gaining entry into the house on the day they will impeach the Speaker. They also plan to close down the House for frivolous reasons and reconvene at a date that will only be known to those in the know of the plan to impeach the speaker.
Our correspondent learned that the Speaker is very popular among his colleagues and is well loved by his constituents and many leaders of the party. One of the party leaders who spoke on the condition of anonymity warned those behind the plan to forget the idea. It will back fire and embarrass the Oyebanji administration, which enjoys the support of many people. How do you impeach a speaker who has made Ekiti proud through his legislative innovations, which made the house he leads win the best house of Assembly in Nigeria in ICT integration? Those behind this plot should think twice because the move will shatter the peace of this state, and nobody may be able to predict the outcome. The House of Assembly has cooperated well with the Governor, and that’s why we enjoy peace in Ekiti today. Any attempt to impeach this popular speaker will lead to unintended consequences that may be grave, the party leader concluded.
As the plot thickens and the majority of the lawmakers remain solidly behind their Speaker, will the clique succeed in its plan?
