Ahead of National Assembly Speakership election scheduled for next Tuesday, June 11, a group of lawyers have challenged Femi Gbajabiamila, immediate past House Majority Leader, to go to court over the criminal allegation levelled against him by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) questioning
Gbaja’s eligibility to be the next House speaker.
The Director-General of the Femi Gbajabiamila/Ahmed Wase Campaign Organisation, Rep. Abdulmumin Jibrin, had on Wednesday threatened to sue the CUPP leaders for claiming at a press conference that Gbaja was an ex-convict, hence disqualified from holding public office. Jibrin insisted that Gbaja had never been convicted nor served any court document hence he would participate in the Speakership election on June 11 in spite the campaign of calumny.
But the lawyers under the auspices of Coalition of Public Interest Lawyers and Advocates (COPA), said in a statement Friday that Gbaja would have to first of all clear himself of the allegation before seeking to contest for the Speaker position. The statement quoted Pelumi Olajengbesi, leader of the group, as welcoming the lawmaker’s threat of going to court, noting that Nigerians would have the opportunity of knowing whether the allegation against him was true or false.
“We make bold to state that it is crystal clear that Femi Gbajabiamila lacks the moral mettle and sincerity to lead the House of Representatives as its Speaker. This is because the context of the press conference held on his behalf failed to address the substantive issue against him, and rather than express remorse, countered with baseless threats against the Nigerian people.
“COPA states categorically that it is in possession of all documents and evidences that establishes a clear case of fraudulent dishonesty and abuse of trust against Femi Gbajabiamila. The facts against Gbajabiamila are, in fact, readily available to the public as they were established in a Court of Record with same being accessible to the public, and are attached herein for the avoidance of doubt.
“We have established correspondence with the Supreme Court of Georgia and we have documents of Disciplinary Case No. S06Y0829 and the family of the victim of Gbajabiamila’s fraud- Hadyatou Barry as well as with the insurance company that paid the claim misappropriated by Femi Gbajabiamila -Vesta; PO Box 23410 Nashville TN, 31202,.
“The entire defense raised in Femi Gbajabiamila’s behalf in the said press statement relied on a book whose thorough, unbiased reading ironically actually proves his guilt as the book acknowledges all the material facts establishing his guilt in fraudulently appropriating to himself money meant for the victim of a car accident,” the statement quoted Olajengbesi as saying.
The statement also quoted Olajengbesi as saying that no amount of half-truths and misdirection would stop them from getting to the root of the matter.
