Lasun Threatens Legal Action Against ECOWAS Speaker, Secretariat… ….Demands Retraction Within 12 Hours – TheNigerialawyer

The Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Lasun
Sulaimon Yussuff has threatened to take legal action against the
Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Moustapha Cisse Lo over
allegation of collecting payment without attending ECOWAS
plenary.

Lasun who also threatened to sue the ECOWAS Secretariat
alongside the speaker should they fail to retract the statement,
said at no time did he demanded to be paid nor did he receive any
payment.

Cisse Lo in his closing remark at the ECOWAS session held in
Abuja last Friday was credited to have said that the Country’s
Deputy Speaker and other members of Nigeria delegation to the
plenary received full payment without attending the plenary, a
statement Lasun has since denied.

Lasun described the statement as worrisome and embarrassing.

Speaking through his Press Secretary, Mr. Wole Oladimeji, the
country’s Deputy Speaker who also doubles as first Deputy Speaker
of ECOWAS Parliament said by Thursday, should the Speaker and
Secretariat fail to retract his claim, he would proceed to the
court.

“By Thursday, the Speaker and the Secretariat should be
expecting legal action, should they fail to retract the claim,” he
said.

He explained “I have been out of the country since two weeks
ago. I was worried and embarrassed that the speaker could go dirty
at plenary to make unparliamentarily remark about my person.

“Honestly I do not know his intentions for calling my name,
threatening that he would not pay any delegate from Nigeria that
failed to attend the session. He was quoted to have accused the
last Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon Lasun Sulaimon Yussuff who is the
leader of the Nigerian delegation of member of ECOWAS Parliament of
receiving full payment of allowance without attending plenary.
Lasun who never came is being given full payment and he is never
here so I blocked that Payment, he said.

“From all indications, there is a foul play somewhere because
before I travelled to Saudi Arabia I attended the session but when
I saw the way he was conducting himself, I stopped attending. Maybe
some people in the secretariat or the speaker himself is playing
game. Since I stopped attending the session there was no link with
them neither do I receive any payment from ECOWAS nor request or
demand for payment.

“In view of this development, I wish to demand retraction or
refute the statement credited to the ECOWAS Speaker. This
retraction must be done within 12 hours or else he would be forced
to legal action against the ECOWAS Secretariat and speaker for
defamation of character,” he said.

Oladimeji who said that Lasun believed in rule of law and would
have taken permission before proceeding to hajj.

Hence, he said his principal was yet to understand the intention
of the ECOWAS Speaker for mentioning his name in his outburst.

Lasun media aide also noted that he was at the ECOWAS Parliament
Secretariat to get first-hand information on what was going on and
from his interaction with the ECOWAS Secretary, Mr. John Azumah,
there was no basis for such allegation.

He said, “I met with the ECOWAS Secretary-General, Mr John
Azumah who said categorically that Rt. Hon Lasun has not requested
or demanded for any payment. He also stated that no money was given
to him.

“What we did is just a financial procedure by capturing all the
lawmakers and submitted to the office of the speaker. We are civil
servant; we cannot comment on the matter, we do not have any
opinion on the matter. We left politicians to their game”

It was however gathered that Cisse Lo relationship with
Nigerians at the ECOWAS Parliament Secretariat has not been
cordial. This may not be unconnected with the fact that he was not
Nigeria’s preferred candidate for the position. Though the position
is rotational, Senegal had another candidate.

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