Members of the Ogun State House of Assembly on Tuesday threw caution to the wind and engaged in a free-for-all over agitations for the impeachment of Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Suraj Adekunbi, destroying the mace, the symbol of authority in the process.
Some of the lawmakers sustained injuries during the brawl, which resulted from the suspension of four of their colleagues by the speaker.
The suspended members, Remi Hassan, Adijat Adeboye Oladapo, Job Akintan and John Obafemi, were said to have accused the speaker of high-handedness and corruption, but the speaker in turn said the members were causing disaffection in the House and making it ungovernable.
Job Akintan and Adijat Oladapo were suspended by Adekumbi for allegedly becoming so unruly as to challenge the speaker’s authority, both verbally and in writing.
The speaker said Adijat had refused to render proper account of the N24 million allocated for members’ foreign trip. She also allegedly refused to declare her personal interests in contracts she awarded as Chairman of the House Service Committee ― an action deemed to have brought the Assembly into disrepute.
Adekunbi accused her of granting interviews to newsmen, during which she intentionally misrepresented facts and walked out of the House sitting on Thursday, 28th February 2013, in flagrant disobedience to the authority of the leadership of the House.
John Obafemi was accused of attempting to usurp the authority of the speaker by invoking an order of Standing Order and authority specially reserved for the speaker of the House.
Remmy Hassan, who is not new to crisis in the Assembly having being a member since Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s administration, was said to have become unruly, challenging the authority of the speaker and engaging in unruly behaviour by physically fighting or assaulting another member in outright disregard to the authority of the House leadership. The speaker said Hassan refused to declare the assets he awarded as member of House Service Committee.
He was also accused of walking out of the House sitting on Thursday, 28th February 2013 in outright disobedience to the authority of the leadership of the House repeatedly, challenging the authority of the leadership of the House by inciting members not to attend meetings rightly called by the House leadership.
However, immediately Adekunbi announced their suspension, they, in turn, declared him suspended; and this led to the fracas.
The crisis rocking the House had begun since last year when 19 out of the 26 members of the House allegedly began moves to impeach the speaker for offences including ineptitude, autocracy and failure to recognise the House Committee on Rules and Proceedings.
Apart from questioning his experience, the lawmakers had accused the speaker of becoming a stooge to the Executive, thereby turning the legislature into a rubber stamp.
Adekunbi had since then made several futile efforts to persuade the aggrieved lawmakers to drop their plans. The crisis that erupted on Tuesday forced security operatives attached to the House to forcefully evacuate everyone out of the Assembly premises by firing canisters of tear gas.
