The noise is too much, and many Edo people are getting irritated over the political buzz that have pervaded the Edo political atmosphere these past weeks.
The House of Representatives last week made some decisions following the complaints from some Edo members who are bent on fueling political tension in Edo from far away Abuja. The House of Representatives in their wisdom or is it foolishness again ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu; and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, to seal off the Edo State House of Assembly until a proper inauguration is conducted.
The House equally asked Governor Godwin Obaseki to issue a fresh proclamation of the Seventh Assembly within one week, which must be published by the media. These were a fall out of the recommendations by an ad hoc committee set up by the House to investigate the crisis in the Assembly led by Abdurazak Namdas. The panel’s report was considered and adopted at the plenary last Wednesday.
But funny enough, Namdas, while presenting the report on the probe, said the panel discovered that Obaseki did not indicate the time for the inauguration, creating the confusion among members-elect of the Assembly. This is what led to all the hullabaloo that has charged the political atmosphere in the state. What does the committee mean by Obaseki setting the time of inauguration? What was important is that the Governor issued a letter of proclamation for the inauguration of the House. The Clerk of the Edo State House of Assembly equally told the House Committee that he reached out to all the elected members to show up for inauguration.
What is obvious is that the Governor and the Clerk followed all the constitutional provisions for the inauguration of the House. Period! One expected that Washington Osifo from Uhunmwode and his co-travelers to make themselves available on a later date for inauguration. Obaseki cannot issue another proclamation message to the Edo House as stupidly requested by the House of Representatives.
Obaseki has issued the proclamation. The state Assembly has been inaugurated on June 17, 2019, and Frank Okiye, elected as Speaker. If Washington Osifo and his co-travelers feel the time of inauguration was not convenient for them and they had the option of making themselves available at another time convenient for them or better still challenge the inauguration in a court of competent jurisdiction.
But if they feel that the right thing to do was to invite foreigners masquerading as Federal House of Representatives to come and invade the Assembly, they are now to be seen as enemies of Edo people and must be treated as such.
Giving Governor Obaseki one week ultimatum to issue fresh letter for inauguration of Edo 7th Assembly, erroneously leaning on Section 105(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), is a huge joke.
We recall that when the current members of the House of Representatives were inaugurated following a letter to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, there was no formal invitation letter to the members-elect. They only got to read of the inauguration in the media. No more, no less. In the case of Edo House members-elect, they were communicated by the Clerk following a proclamation letter from Governor Godwin Obaseki.
The funniest cacophony of the National Assembly was the threat to “invoke the provisions of Section 11 (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to take over the state House of Assembly until the situation normalizes.” We dare the House of Representatives to try the threatened takeover of Edo Assembly, if they wouldn’t be forced into a naked dance with the spirits. They need to be told that they will gather but shall surely fail because, their gathering is not of God, but of Satan.
The constitution says National Assembly which is the Senate and House of Representatives, now the Reps have gone solo in their desperate match to use the sledge hammer to kill the fly. Now the Senators are out on yet another mission on behalf of the National Assembly. Here is a brand-new House, divided against itself. They have not removed the log in their own eyes, they are looking for the speck in another man’s.
Little wonder, therefore that Civil Society Organisations, professionals and other groups in Edo State have all been condemning the House of Representatives resolution to take over the Edo State House of Assembly and have matched the streets of Edo State warning the House of Representatives to desist from illegality and face reality. You cannot be pushing morality in the face of the law. The issue in focus is a subject in court involving the Edo Assembly and the House of Representatives. Instead of waiting for the pronouncement of the Judge, the Reps gave their own judgement. What a joke of the century.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
• Mr. Dan Owegie, is a chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC, Edo State.
