Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State on Friday inaugurated the fifth House of Assembly of the state and cleared President Muhammadu Buhari of complicity in the attempt by the immediate past lawmakers of the state on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to impeachment him.
Fayose celebrated the end of the tenure of the lawmakers who engaged him in an endless battle with the aim of getting him out of the Government House.
This time, all 26 members of the House are on the platform of the PDP.
While some of his supporters thought Buhari had a hand in the plot against Fayose, the governor said security report available to him showed that Buhari was, indeed, innocent of the accusation.
« Available security reports showed that Buhari had no hands in the impeachment plot against me,” Fayose said.
“The President had said that he had no enemy to fight. He said he has put the past behind him and why are the APC lawmakers still bent on impeaching me? What is their own in this matter?”
The governor who said he now had peace of mind to begin work in the state, appealed to the new lawmakers to avoid any mindless power struggle with the Executive, the “crude and barbaric” way the outgone lawmakers did.
Fayose added that his proclamation of the fifth Assembly was in accordance with Section 105 Subsection 3 of the 1999 Constitution.
The lawmaker representing Moba Constituency 1, Kola Oluwawole, emerged the new Speaker, the representative of Ekiti West Constituency 1, Segun Adewumi, was elected Deputy Speaker, Tunji Akinyele of Oye Constituency 2 emerged the Leader of the House while Sunday Akinniyi from Ikere Constituency 2 emerged as the Chief Whip.
Fayose, while promising to work with the House and warning the Speaker against being over-ambitious, pledged to pay all the entitlements of the 19 APC lawmakers in the spirit of oneness and unity.
The governor said: “I want to charge the members of this newly inaugurated House of Assembly to see quality legislation as your primary assignment and be diligent with it.
“Always remember that whatever you do today will become history, do not disappoint the people that voted you in.
“I want to tell Ekiti people that I am also being inaugurated today as we are doing for the House because the past seven months have been months of distraction.
“Let me tell you that though the finances of the state have not improved, but I am now ready to hit the ground running.
“I’m more determined and committed to serve you better and I am on this seat for you, I am now ready to deliver more dividends of democracy to my people.
“This government was ordained by God to serve His people, and I am committed to serve you better than ever.”