Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, has incurred the wrath of his colleagues over plans to retain the speakership position in the next dispensation.Huhuonline.com learnt that Ikuforiji, who has been in the position as since five years following the impeachment of the former Speaker, Jokotola Pelumi, is planning to spend the next four years leading his colleagues again.
But some members of the House are not have strongly protested this moves stressing that he was not the only one qualifies to take up that position.
The Speaker is also facing serious opposition from the people of Ikeja constituency who say Ikuforiji is being imposed on them by the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
Before now, the Majority Leader of the House, Taiwo Kolawole, had been pencilled to take over as Speaker of the House in the seventh Assembly and he had started presiding over sittings of the House while Ikuforiji, who was eyeing the governorship position in the State sometimes sat at the gallery to watch how he handles issues at the floor of the House.
Hon. Kolawole, it was learnt, was pursuing a seat at the House of Representatives and had spent N30 million in his campaign before he was asked to step down for the Speakership position by the ACN in the State.
However, immediately it dawned on the Speaker that he would not be favoured for the governorship seat, he was said to have become desperate to come back to the Assembly as Speaker.
His first step, Huhuonline.com learnt, was to seek the ticket from Oshodi-Isolo Constituency, but sources say he was rejected. This forced him to seek the mandate of the Ikeja people while Hon. Babatunde Ogala who represents the constituency was asked to step down.
"The people of Epe, his original constituency, also rejected him and out of confusion and sympathy, he was asked to contest under Ikeja," a lawmaker told Huhuonline.com
The realisation that the Majority Leader is no longer going to head the House after the April election is said to be tearing the once cordial relationship among members of the House apart.
Those sympathetic to the Majority Leader are already questioning the rationale behind Ikuforiji’s continuous stay as Speaker of the House.
“If he stays for another four years, it would mean that he was Speaker for nine years because he is already spending his fifth year.
“I am not saying he is not a good leader. In fact, he has been the best that the state has ever had because of the way he handles our welfare and ensured that we are trained to become useful lawmakers. But what I am saying is that there are others who can still lead the House,” a highly placed source within the Assembly told huhuonline.com.
Another lawmaker, who was heard discussing the issue with some colleagues was said to have asked: “Is he the only one who is qualified for the position?”
In one of the sittings before the lawmakers embarked on a one-month recess, a member of the House, Hon. Bayo Oshinowo, informed Ikuforiji that becoming the Speaker was by the grace of God. “But this time, before you become the Speaker again, you must come and see us oh.”
Also, a group known as the Ikeja Movement for Good Governance (IMGG) has said it would do all in its power to ensure that Ikuforiji is not voted in to represent Ikeja Constituency 1 in the forthcoming election.
The group, which was formed for the goal of ensuring the Speaker failed in his ambition, claimed that Ikuforiji is not eligible to contest for House of Assembly in Ikeja and therefore must not be given the mandate of the people.
According to the spokesman of the group, Adeyemi Ayantunji “as far we are concerned in Ikeja Constituency 1, Ikuforiji is not a resident here. The fact that the Speaker’s lodge is located in Ikeja doesn’t make whoever the Speaker of the House an insider.
“Presently he is representing the people of Epe constituency 1; he has not finished his term there and he has been campaigning in Ikeja. We got information that he doled out to a sum of N250,000 each to leaders of the seven wards in Ikeja last week.
“As far as we know, he has his house in Okota, which is under Oshodi-Isolo Constituency 2, so he should go and contest from that place if they no longer want him in Epe. We in Ikeja Constituency 1 are enlightened and we won’t allow the ACN to impose an unrecognised person.
“We as a group will not tolerate such immorality to take place in Ikeja. It will be in the interest of ACN to do the right thing and allow any of those candidates that contested in the primaries. We’ve heard that they are still working on their list and Ikeja Constituency 1 should be among the ones they will work on.
“We are lovers of the ACN and we appreciate what the government of Lagos State has been doing since 2007, but with what is on ground now, we might be forced to work against the party in the coming election. If they refuse to heed to our call, we will mobilise against the party in the election and we can assure you that ACN will lose Ikeja to opposition.
“They did the same thing to us in 2007 by imposing Babatunde Ogala on us; the four years he spent there was a waste for our constituency. We won’t allow another four years to go again like, if Ikuforiji is willing to return to the House, he should go back to Epe or contest from Oshodi-Isolo where his personal house is located”, said Ayanrtunji.
But a close aide to the Speaker, who did not want his name in print, has reportedly said the Speaker has been slated to lead the House in the next dispensation, adding that there was nothing anyone could do about it.
He said those who are currently complaining do not have the leadership ability to move the House to the height the Speaker is known to have placed it.
Meanwhile Huhonline.com can confirm that norctunal meetings are going on within the House with the sole aim of ensuring that the Speaker does not lead the House or is impeached in the event that he is imposed on the members.
No comments:
Post a Comment