- Development sad and unpleasant, says PDP
As the crisis rocking the Edo State House of Assembly continues, the Speaker, Hon. Frank Okiye, on Wednesday alleged that the “Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives investigating issues surrounding the inauguration of the Edo State House of Assembly has recommended that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Department of State Services (DSS) should seal up the Assembly.”
This is even as the seven-man Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating the crisis visited the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, also on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has described the crisis as a sad and unpleasant development.
A statement by the Edo State PDP chairman, Dan Orbih, on Wednesday said:
“We are embarrassed by the ugly and unending crisis in the APC-controlled Edo State House of Assembly.
“This unnecessary power show is not in the interest of the state. The Assembly which ought to be a house of honourable men is now going to be occupied by uniformed armed men.
“We have always maintained that Edo State deserves better than what the APC is offering.
“The poor and lamentable state of affairs in the state underscores the need to vote out the APC government in the state. A party and government that cannot manage a House of 24 persons cannot manage the state.
“We call on all concerned in the Assembly crisis to stop this ego trip and blame game and face the serious business of good governance in the interest of the people.
“Edo State too sophisticated to be used as political guinea pig of supremacy between party and government strength.”
But chastising the alleged plot by the House of Representatives, the Speaker alleged in a press statement he personally signed that:
“Considering what we came to know in the course of this process, the recommendation of the Ad-Hoc committee does not come to us as a surprise.
“For example, the chattered plane marked 5N FCT, which brought the committee members to Benin City, was paid for by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who is a major party in the disagreement.
“Also, the younger brother to the National Chairman, Seid Oshiomhole, in a recent leaked audio conversation, revealed the underhand dealings in Abuja regarding the matter. He stated that Oshiomhole and his proxies have been having meetings with the committee members and other actors in the issue in Abuja and dolling out money to ensure the issue goes in their favour.
“With all these, it was clear that the ad-hoc committee was up to no good. Their report was always going to be biased.
“Moreover, we want to draw the attention of the general public and the Police to a subsisting court order restraining the Police, headed by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu; the National Working Committee of the APC; the DSS and their agents, from interfering in the affairs of the Assembly, as the House has been going about its activities peacefully and without rancor.
“The National Assembly must take note that they are expected to act as agents of peace and not merchants of crisis. Edo State has always been peaceful and any attempt for them to carry out this order will certainly disrupt the peace that is currently being enjoyed in the state.
“In a time like this in which the nation is being engulfed in one form of violence or the order, it is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is seen to be promoting violence and exacerbating the tension in the country.” ,
This is even as the Senate Ad-hoc Committee led by Senator Aliu Sabi Abdullahi, visited Obaseki on Wednesday
Members of the committee were on a fact-finding mission to get first-hand information on the lingering crisis.
Senator Abdullahi said, “We are here on a fact-finding mission as mandated by the leadership of the Senate. For us in the Senate or National Assembly, the constitution allows us to interfere in a way in the crisis in any of the state assemblies to restore law and order.”
“We have the constitutional duties to look into the issues with a view to ensuring that all is well. I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the civility of this state is not in doubt. Edo State enjoys parliamentary civility. We will visit the Oba of Benin and members of Edo State House of Assembly (EDHA),” he noted.
He added, “We are here to get the facts; ours is to articulate and prepare the facts and lay it the way they are before the 109 senators who will do justice to the issue. I assure you that we are out for the good of this state and its people.”
Responding, Governor Godwin Obaseki thanked the committee for finding time to visit the state to get first-hand information on the issue at the state assembly, adding that his administration in the last two and half years has continued to pursue peace and order in the state without any political crisis.
He said, “It is a very sad situation as we never anticipated this will happen. We are happy your committee is here on a fact-finding mission. If this has been done by the leadership of my party, we will not have gotten where we are today.”
He said the constitution is clear on issues at the Assembly as he had issued a proclamation letter, adding, “I have fulfilled my constitutional responsibility, I believe in the separation of powers. There were issues and we expected that those in higher authority should have stepped in to ensure it is resolved but now the matter is in court. I am sure the 109 members will look at the facts dispassionately because I know you are men of integrity.”
Obaseki said he knew pressure was being mounted on some individuals on the matter but expressed confidence in the capacity of the committee to do justice to the matter for the interest of the state, country and democracy.
