Sacked Ekiti Speaker’s election was compromised – Successor

The newly inaugurated Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Olubunmi Adelugba, said on Monday that last Tuesday’s election that produced Gboyega Aribisogan as Speaker of the Assembly was compromised.

Adelugba said Aribisogan’s sacking by 17 of the 25 members of the Assembly confirmed the electoral fraud and as well wiped it off, adding, “What happened in the Assembly today (Monday) is about the party and not about the former governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi. It is not as well about me.”

The new Speaker, who spoke at the All Progressives Congress state secretariat in Ado Ekiti shortly after she was elected and inaugurated at the plenary, said reasons for Aribisogan’s removal included sabotage of the Supplementary Appropriation Bill before the Assembly.

According to her, the seven lawmakers in Aribisogan’s group, who were suspended from the House at the plenary had the opportunity to be forgiven, saying, “The caveat is there for those who were suspended.

“As many of them that repent will be accepted because it is the more the merrier. They can write directly to the House, their case will be reviewed and they will be forgiven.

“The first (last week’s) election has been upturned by the sitting of today. Aribisogan has been sacked and the key leaders have been suspended. That election was actually compromised,” she said.

Aribisogan had 15 votes last Tuesday to emerge Speaker, defeating Adelugba who had scored 10 votes.

But Adelugba said, “If you look at the people who were in the House today, you will see more than 14, 15, 16 members were saying that they did not vote that way. Apparently, there was compromise, but that compromise has been wiped by the decision of today. 17 members voted unanimously for me.

“Again, the last time that we sat, the revised Supplementary Appropriation Bill was supposed to be passed, but the bill was stopped and sabotaged by Aribisogan and his people,” she said.

The Assembly had, at the sitting, sacked Aribsogan as Speaker and suspended him indefinitely from the legislative body while six other lawmakers in his group were suspended as well.

Aribisogan had on Sunday night raised the alarm over plot to sack him with minority members by Fayemi, who he said had earlier invited them to his house and suggested the idea of Adelugba as Speaker to replace the erstwhile Speaker, Funminiyi Afuye, who died on October 19.

(Punch)