Edo State House of Assembly: Hostilities Resume Monday As Factions Refuse To Reconcile

IF those concerned refuse to sheath their swords tomorrow, hostilities are likely to resume in Edo State House of Assembly, as members resume sitting after one month recess. Though observers thought the recess would be used to resolve the crisis that had split members into two camps of 15 members of All Progressives Congress (APC), led by the Speaker, Uyi Igbe and nine members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by former deputy Speaker, Festus Ebea, who now presides over his faction, claiming to be the Speaker.
    The crisis led to the 15 APC lawmakers relocating to the House of Assembly annex in Government House, as a result of renovation work going on in the Assembly Complex in Ring Road, while the PDP lawmakers insisted that the Anthony Enahoro complex remains their meeting point, alleging that the renovation work was not part of the 2014 budget of the House.
   Ebea told The Guardian Friday that they would resume their sittings. “Edo State should expect normal legislative activities from us as we resume plenary on Monday. The Governor and APC have refused to allow for any settlement, they insist we must all go and this is not possible.”
   Ebea said he remained the Speaker of the House of Assembly and that they had already gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the restraining order slammed on them by a state High Court, which they said they would not obey as according to him, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has a penchant for disobeying court orders.
  “The court matters are still on or are you telling me that you are not aware that they went to get a vacation judge to restrain us from sitting? But our lawyer quickly went to stop it. When they say we are not obeying court orders, it is like the kettle calling the pot black. Go and do your investigation and not just report. How many court judgments has the Governor ever obeyed? Former Speaker, Zakawanu Garuba and others were removed in the past and that was what they wanted to do to us. The Court reinstated Garuba and the others; did the Governor obey, where their entitlements paid? he asked”
  However, Senior Special Assistant to the Edo state governor on Legislative Matters, Ben Olajina has said that Adams Oshiomhole is looking forward to a united state Assembly in the days ahead.
   He said the governor has great respect for the legislature and all the lawmakers, irrespective of their political platforms, because he believes in the separation of powers and that the interest of Edo people should be paramount to all those elected to serve the people.
   Olajina, a member of the House from 1999 to 2003 under the defunct All Peoples Party (APP) said that Assembly has always overcome its crises in the past.
  “This is not the first time this kind of development is taking place and it is the duty of the Governor to reconcile the parties. He wants them to sheath their swords in the interest of Edo people who elected them for the dividends of democracy to continue to flow, he said.”
   However, before the recess, both camps had independently passed resolutions, which suffered different fates.
   The PDP lawmakers first called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to freeze the account of the Assembly, they asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Attorney General of the Federal, the Accountant General of the Federation and the Director General of the Revenue Allocation, Mobilization and fiscal Commission to withhold revenue allocation to the 18 local government areas of the state. 
  On the other hand, the APC lawmakers summoned council chairmen to submit their briefs, which they quickly complied. They also declared vacant the seat of the member representing Etsako Constituency 1, Abdulrasaq Momoh, just as they impeached the deputy Speaker, Festus Ebea and replaced him with Victor Edorhor.
   The APC in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Godwin Erahon alleged that the PDP lawmakers planned to escape the country for fear of impending bench warrant for their arrest and prosecution for contempt.
   He said “Reliable sources said the three suspended legislators have decided to escape arrest after an elderly Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, told them that they were prison-bound following the call-off of strike action by Judiciary workers. The strike has been delaying court decision on APC application for warrant of arrest against them.”
   A university don, Professor Tony Afejuku, however laid the blame on political leaders from both the APC and PDP, whom he said are fighting war of survival.
   In an interview with The Guardian the public commentator and the former Head of Department of Faculty of Arts, University of Benin, spoke on several local and national issues, Afejuku said:  “It is so painful and laughable scenarios we are witnessing. Not long ago, what didn’t they say against Tony Anenih, all the abuses in the world and before we knew it the same Anenih they were giving all kinds of label they now returned to. So the Comrade Governor, the messiah is now a devil. So I don’t get involved in a quarrel or fight of two lords of deception and oppression of the people. And I knew right from time, ab initio, that Oshiomhole will remain Oshiomhole. It is what has been cleared out. From what I read, they have even accused the other party of getting money from the PDP and another one has come out to say, ‘let us go and take an oath’. They deny getting anything from anybody. The Governor has not responded to that challenge. So, whoever is saying what he is saying, as far as I am concerned doesn’t mean anything. 
  “They are protecting the territory that enables them to oppress the people further. I know all of them in different ways; Now, the question of going to court, they are not respecting the court order, but do you blame them, do we have courts in Nigeria? I said it before and I am saying it again that the Judiciary we have is a Judiciary less Judiciary. They know what the Judges do in other to pass verdict. They are protecting the territory that enables them to oppress the people further. I know all of them in different ways.
They know what they must have done in the past or what they are doing to call the bluff of the Judiciary. And as the other part of the PDP people recently argued, wherein, they catalogued the misdemeanor of the Governor, cases, examples, illustration of the Governor’s own flagrant disobedience of court orders and heaven didn’t fall. He set the examples and they are following. But we say in my place, follow good example, they should not follow bad example and they said they have appealed. What we are having now shouldn’t have happened at all.”
   The crisis in the House started shortly after the APC membership registration exercise and then ward and local government congresses.  It was about who controls the party ahead of 2015 general election and then the big one, 2016 governorship election.
   The party became divided on who controls the structure between the Oshiomhole, who using his deputy, Dr. Pius Odubu, Political Adviser, Charles Idahosa, his former Chief of Staff, Osarodion Ogie, took control of the party in Edo South Senatorial District, which controls more than 50 per cent of the voting population of the state. Former national vice chairman South-South of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who has not hidden his interest to succeed Oshiomhole, was disenchanted with the outcome of the congress and took a walk.
  He left the APC with other supporters across the three senatorial districts, including four lawmakers - Patrick Osayimen, Jude Ise-Idehen and Abdurasaq Momoh back to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
   There is also the strong speculation that the Federal Government is also very keen in seeing the end of APC in Edo State. The defection of the lawmakers to the PDP swelled the membership of the PDP in the 24- member House to eight from four.
  As at today, Ebea is yet to formally resign from the APC, but through his actions he is already one with the party.
  The allegation that they were promised and received N50 million surfaced with the threat that they were to lure more lawmakers into the PDP in order to have the absolute majority needed to changed the leadership of the House, with the possibility of ousting the Governor and his Deputy. That, it is alleged is to pave way for the PDP to win back the state in the next election.
   But sensing that the APC controlled leadership of the House was bent on punishing their act of defection, using the rules of the House, the four lawmakers approached the Federal High Court, where they demanded that the House should be restrained from declaring their seats vacant and also suspending them, and the Judge, Justice A. M. Liman granted their prayer, that their seats should not be declared vacant, but said the issue of suspension was an internal working arrangement of the House.
  The House then suspended the members “for an indefinite period for misconduct as provided for under Order 38 of the Rules of the Procedure of the House of Assembly.”
   But the four suspended members faulted the procedure for the suspension, saying it was faulty and therefore would not be obeyed.
   Supported by the existing four PDP lawmakers, the four suspended lawmakers and the deputy Speaker, Festus Ebea held their session, though without the Mace, Clerk of the House, Sergeant-at-Arms, which are the symbols of authority for the House’ sitting and pronounced their counter suspension of the Speaker, Majority Leader, Philip Shaibu and appointed Ebea as the new Speaker of the House.
   But for not complying with the suspension, the leadership of the House approached the Court and got an order restraining the four suspended lawmakers and the Police from forcibly gaining entry into the Assembly Complex and the legislative quarters. 
   And for days they could not resolve their differences even after series of verbal altercations and fights. That ding-dong continued until they separately left for vacation. Tomorrow, they are likely to pick up from where they stopped.