Minority members of Ekiti State House of Assembly who are of the All Progressives Congress have rejected Tuesday’s long adjournment by the leadership of the house.
While moving the motion for adjournment on the floor of the house, the Majority Leader, Akinyele Olatunji, had cited the continued harassment of members of the Peoples Democratic Party and lawmakers by security operatives, as reasons for the adjournment.
The house is to resume on October 8, a week to the swearing in of the governor-elect, Kayode Fayemi.
The APC members, while speaking to journalists in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, described the long adjournment as illegal and not in the interest of the people of the state who elected them.
The lawmakers, led by the Minority Leader, Gboyega Aribisogan (Ikole Constituency 1), alleged that the long adjournment was masterminded by Governor Ayo Fayose in a bid to emasculate the legislative arm.
The other two APC lawmaker are Sunday Akinniyi (Ikere Constituency 1) and Adeniran Alagbada (Ise/Orun Constituency), who were originally of the PDP, but defected to the APC in the wake of crisis following the outcome of the PDP governorship crisis.
Mr Aribisogan said the APC assembly members were ready for legislative business, calling on the police and the State Security Services to give the minority lawmakers security anytime they decide to perform their constitutional duties.
“That long adjournment was illegal and even the plenary held on Tuesday was illegal because it was Governor Fayose that directed the Speaker to hold that plenary without notice to all members,” he said.
“It is unfortunate that we still have this executive recklessness going on in Ekiti State. Maybe the Speaker has forgotten that we now have members of APC in the House because we were neither notified nor consulted.
“That is why we have resolved that we are not going on recess. We are open for our normal legislative business from Mondays to Fridays and we are calling on security agencies so that we can perform our constitutional duties without let or hindrance.
“We are not on recess and we are calling on Ekiti people who have one business or the other in the Assembly to come and meet us.
“They (PDP legislators) are listening to the advice of one man who, perhaps has ordered the Speaker to suspend legislative activities.”
When asked whether three APC members form a quorum to perform legislative duties, Mr Aribisigan replied: “On our own, we are not on recess; it is only when you are going for plenary that you need a quorum but we can sit at parliamentary committee and constituency meetings.”
“It was an act of arrogance to have proceeded on an illegal long adjournment. It is against the rule of the House because there are two parties in the House,” said Mr Akinniyi, another minority member.
“It appears the Speaker is living in a fool’s paradise without giving notice to all members of the Assembly. We APC members of Ekiti State House of Assembly are live to our responsibilities to legislative for the good of our people and perform other oversight functions.
“For somebody to listen to the instruction of a governor who is in the forest to be controlling the assembly; what they have done is highly illegal and we have resolved that the legislative business will continue.
“We have duly informed security agencies that we (APC House members) are ready to continue with our constitutional functions so that anytime we are there, te will give us security.
“The minority members will resume office anytime we want because we are not on recess and no individual, no matter how powerful, can stop us from performing our lawful duties.”
