The Ekiti State House of Assembly have stated that the reinstatement of the sacked assembly’s speaker, Gboyega Aribisogan, is impossible.
According to The PUNCH, this is contained in a counter statement issued on Thursday night by the new Chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity, Adeoye Aribasoye, on behalf of the lawmakers.
Contrary to what the seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria claimed, Aribasoye claimed that the removal of Aribisogan had become permanent and that the new Speaker, Bunmi Adelugba, would continue in her position.
The seven eminent Ekiti lawyers, who are of Senior Advocates of Nigeria rank, led by Afe Babalola, had called for the reinstatement of Aribisogan on the ground that his sacking was “ill-conceived, illegal, null and void.”
Others, who included Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN); Dele Adesina (SAN); Olu Daramola (SAN); Femi Falana (SAN); Dayo Akinlaja (SAN) and Gboyega Oyewole (SAN), had on Wednesday night, issued a statement, condemning as unwarranted, Aribisogan’s purported sacking and called for his immediate reinstatement.
The Senior attorneys also advised Adelugba to stop presenting herself as the new Speaker after Aribisogan was fired because her purported election was invalid.
However, in a swift reaction, Aribasoye said, “The attention of the Ekiti State House of Assembly has been drawn to a letter circulating on social media written by a combination of Senior Advocates of Nigeria.
“The letter is about the concern of the legal luminaries led by Aare Afe Babalola about the recent change of leadership in the Ekiti State House of Assembly, leading to the impeachment of Rt. Hon Gboyega Aribisogan, who was replaced with Rt. Hon. Olubunmi Adelugba.
“We recognise the right of the legal luminaries, as stakeholders in Ekiti State and we respect their opinions and advice, but that is where it ends.
“We wish to let the reading public know that members of the Assembly feel a sense of injustice by the one-sided opinion and biased intervention of the legal luminaries, who are also elder statesmen.
“The principle of justice all over the world is that all sides to a conflict must be heard and it is only then that justice can be seen to have been done.”
He asserts that it is regrettable that our elder statesmen did not hear the arguments made by the 16 remaining members and the new Speaker, who ousted Aribisogan and chose Adelugba.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Adelugba remains the validly elected Speaker of the Assembly and she enjoys the support of overwhelming majority of the Honourable members, party leadership and the government of Ekiti State.
“Therefore, the advice of the legal luminaries that Adelugba, who was duly elected by 17 members should stop parading herself as the Speaker is unwarranted and we believe this is based on wrong information by the sacked Speaker.”
He claimed that regarding the impeachment of Aribisogan and the election of Adelugba, the House had not violated any provisions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution or its own Standing Rules.
Aribisoye added that Aribisogan was duly given a sacking notice on Monday and was subsequently fired by two-thirds of the entire House.
“We, however, wish to remind our legal luminaries that when a serious infraction of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was committed during the Peoples Democratic Party administration of Governor Ayodele Fayose where seven members sacked the then Speaker, Adewale Omirin, we didn’t see a convergence of legal luminaries condemning the action.
“This same Aribisogan was equally suspended by the fifth Assembly during the tenure of Governor Fayose, but there was no whimper from our legal luminaries.
“We wish to reinstate that peace has returned to the Assembly since the inordinately ambitious Speaker was sacked and suspended alongside his cohorts.
“Adelugba has presided over parliamentaries and plenaries, with majority of members present.
“She has announced the appointment of new principal officers and she has constituted all Committees of the House,” he said.
