Court reinstates Six Fayose’s lawmakers, sacks Fayemi’s loyalists

An Ado-Ekiti High Court has reinstated six lawmakers suspended
by the 5th Assembly and also ordered payment of their salaries and
other emoluments.

The suspended lawmakers include Tunji Akinyele ( Oye II)
Ekundayo Akinleye (Ijero), Olusanya Aladeyelu (Irepodun- Ifelodun
II), Olawale Onigiobi ( Ekiti South West 1), Ayodele Fajemilehin (
Gbonyin) and Dr Samuel Omotoso (Oye 1).

In its ruling at the weekend Justice Abiodun Adewodun declared
the suspension null and void, describing the decision of the State
Assembly to suspend and also stop the salaries and emoluments of
the lawmakers as egregious, indecorous, unbecoming and clearly out
of order.

The court declared that the Assembly erred in law when a
factional meeting of October 11, 2018, suspended some honourable
members and described it as anomalous, defective, unseemly, out of
place, wicked and outright abuse of power.

The Court also faulted the purported impeachment of Speaker
Kolawole Oluwawole and the Deputy Mr Adesina Animasaun, thereby
declaring the purported speakership of Hon Adeniran Ebenezer
Alagbada and his team of principal officers as unknown to law and
therefore non existent in the history of Ekiti State.

The 5th Assembly had on October 11, 2018 suspended the two
impeached principal officers along 10 others loyal to Fayose for
125 legislative days.

Their removal and suspension were spearheaded by some All
Progressives Congress lawmakers in the Assembly, alongside some
aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party members barely five days to the
end of the tenure of the immediate past Governor Ayodele
Fayose.

Reacting to the judgment, the legal counsel to the six lawmakers
Barr Obafemi Adewale said that the judgment was not only about
Ekiti State House of Assembly but the 36 States House of
Assemblies.

“The judgment is for the House of Assembly as an institution
abiding by its own rule. That is the principle that is also
applicable to all the Legislature in Nigeria. The Judge relied on
the case of Ovie Omo-Agege. It is about the rule of law. It is
about checking impunity. When the judge held that somebody that was
made Speaker was never a Speaker in the eye of the law, then it
says something about the future of those who occupy such
position.

“We started with 12 of them but some of them crawled back to go
and beg but they can now see the virtue of having confidence in the
law.”

Also reacting to the judgment on behalf of other lawmakers, Dr
Samuel Omotoso said it was victory for the rule of law.

He expressed his believe that Dr Kayode Fayemi being a custodian
and a product of the rule of law would abide and respect the court
judgement and pay the outstanding salaries and allowances as
ordered by the court without further delay.

He said that the emoluments of all honourable members are
statutorily recognised under the rule of law since the position of
an elected Lawmaker is tenured under the 1999 Constitution as
amended and thus cannot be wished away.

He also appreciated the judiciary for standing firm as truly the
last hope of the masses.

The former Chairman of the House Committee on information also
commended his five colleagues, describing them as men of integrity,
courage and faithfulness whose unblemished names and records in
reliability and loyalty to a worthy cause would go down in history
of Ekiti State as a memorable reference.

But one of the principal officers whose offices were declared a
nullity, Mr Gboyega Aribisogan faulted the judgement, describing it
as a murdered of justice.

He said the House of Assembly has filed an appeal to seek
redress on the judgement, saying “all what Omotoso and his retinue
of ignoramus are saying is just a figment of their imagination.

“They took the Assembly to court on their suspension. The court
ruled that their suspension was illegal, I was also suspended for
two years. If theirs was illegal, why would my own not be illegal
too?

“If they had perpetrated such an illegal act, why are they
justifying what the court has said? Does that mean they have also
erred by even going ahead to suspend me in the first place?

”All those ones are just political and judicial gymnastics that
will not have any impact on what is happening in the state House of
Assembly. We have filed an appeal, we are expecting that the court
process will continue,” he said