By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan.
Lawmakers in the Honourable Malachi Coker led faction of the Ondo State House of Assembly on Monday asked the Ondo state governor-elect of the state, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) not to meddle in the prolonged crisis rocking the state’ legislative arm.
Spokesman for the faction, Honourable Iroju Ayodeji who stated this while briefing journalists in Ibadan declared that for now, the governor elect should steer clear of the crisis in the House of Assembly and not take side as it is purely a legislative issue.
The spokesman declared that the faction was not oppose to genuine reconciliation in the House if the Hon Jumoke Akindele’s faction is ready to follow the proper channel by first withdrawing the court case against their faction.
Honourable Ayodeji added that the Ondo state House of Assembly complex sealed off by the police should be re-opened with the new principal officers of the Assembly be allowed to preside over the affairs of the house.
He emphasized that “any reconciliation when a case is still pending in court is nothing “but a carrot and stick approach to reconciliation; such reconciliation is not genuine. If there must be reconciliation, it must be genuine.”
Denying reports that members of the faction and their families have gone into hiding, he said the lawmakers in the faction “came to Ibadan from Akure this morning (Sunday) and will also return to Akure after the briefing.
“Some of our members came from Lagos and after this briefing, they would go back to Akure. But the Assembly complex was sealed off two weeks ago. What are we going to do in the complex when it has been sealed off? When the complex is re-opened, we will go back. We are not the one that should go into hiding, they (Akindele’s faction) is the one that should go into hiding because they are legally impeached and suspended. They have questions to answer over the N15 million they withdrew from the account of the assembly without parliamentary approval. They said the money is for project. Which project? They should come out and explain why the cheques were not drawn in the names of the contractors and why they wanted to pay contractors raw cash.”
Honourable Ayodeji who was in company of the factional speaker, Malachi Coker, his deputy, Ayo Arowele and other members of the faction urged the Inspector-General of Police, Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, and Director of Department State Security in the state to protect them and their families from unknown people that have been threatening them via phone calls and text messages,the faction.
It would be recalled that the Assembly was sealed off about two weeks ago by the state police command to forestall breakdown of law and order.
