The instability that characterised the Edo State House of Assembly manifested in the election of six Speakers in four years. Correspondent OSAGIE OTABOR writes on the lessons, which the new lawmakers should learn from the legislative disharmony.
The 6th Edo State House of Assembly was the most turbulent since 1999. It was an Assembly enmeshed in crisis for four years. Between 2015 and 2019, four lawmakers emerged as Speakers. Lawmakers from Edo Central Senatorial District were supposed to enjoy the privilege of producing the Speaker during the period, but they failed. The only two lawmakers from the district that served as Speakers were impeached.
History was also made during the 6th Assembly. It was the period Edo State had a female Speaker. It was also the time Edo people witnessed a Speaker stepping down to become Deputy Speaker, a period two former Speakers served as Deputy Speakers and a lawmaker was impeached both as Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
In 2015 when the Assembly was inaugurated, Victor Edoror (Esan Central), who earlier served as Deputy Speaker in the 5th Assembly was elected Speaker. He only served for 11 months as he was impeached over alleged high-handedness, dictatorial tendencies and financial recklessness. Edoror, who is known as ‘Tiger,’ was removed in a coup that was carefully planned by 16 lawmakers, including three lawmakers from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The lawmakers ate and dined with Edoror the previous day without him having an inkling to their plans. Edoror did not leave without a fight as he resisted attempt to remove him by refusing to leave the seat.
His removal altered the power balancing arrangement in the state. A female lawmaker representing Uhunmwode, Elisabeth Ativie, was made Speaker while Justin Okonoboh representing Igueben in Edo Central was made Deputy Speaker.
Ativie, in her explanation, said Edoror and his deputy, Bright Osayande, were found wanting in their financial handling of the House’s affairs and that they ‘were constantly short-changing members in the almost one year legislative calendar.
She said: “The former speaker was very corrupt. The funniest thing is that he changed the overhead of the House to suit his own ways thereby leaving his colleagues not to be taking care of properly. You journalists can also observe that lawmakers in the Edo Assembly were now living like paupers . I don’t want to go into details of his reckless spendings.”
“One year into office, members cannot feed properly. The most annoying one is that each time members complain, that’s the POC, who are supposed to take care of members, they failed as the leader of the House because the resources were been diverted and not used for what it’s meant for.
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“The most painful one is that, he will tell us that it is the Chief Executive (Oshiomhole) that was not releasing the fund and that ignited us to be fighting the executive. This almost led to almost three months of war between the legislators and the executive.”
“One day the governor called a meeting of party elders and the House where he told us how he has attended to twelve out of the fourteen items sent to him for consideration which was not denied by the former speaker.”
“The moment we establish that there was cheating In the whole process, the members were angered and the more we tried to take care of this, the more revelations we got. Yesterday here, we discovered that certain monies were paid into his private account and I have told the Clerk of the House to write to the auditor general to send us auditors to audit our finances from June last year till May this year.”
Ativie spent only 84 days in office as she was pressured to relinquish office. This move was to assuage the feelings of electorate in Edo Central because of the 2016 governorship election that was approaching.
In July 2016, Ativie stepped down for Okonoboh, who was a first time lawmaker, to emerge as Speaker. Okonoboh got the seat on a platter of gold. The House rules were amended for him to be elected Speaker. Okonoboh, however, managed to spend 11 months in office before he was replaced.
Okonoboh was described as ‘Justina’ and weakling over his alleged inability to be firm and decisive. The move to remove Okonoboh began four months after he was made Speaker. There were complains about his inability to talk about the lawmakers’ welfare package with the governor, Godwin Obaseki.
The poor financial status of the Assembly under Okonoboh pitched the lawmakers against him. There was no money to buy diesel for the generator. Power supply to the Assembly was cut off by the BEDC due to huge debt. Microphones at the hallowed chambers were faulty. Plenary was held at the mercy of BEDC. Whenever power supply is interrupted, sitting will end.
On May 22, Okonoboh got wind of the plot to remove him from office. He postponed plenary citing repair works at the Assembly complex. Okonoboh was removed on August 14, 2017, alongside his Deputy, Ativie. Former Chief Whip, Osagboivo Iyoha said Okonoboh was removed as a result of incompetence.
A new Speaker, Kabiru Adjoto, was installed. Adjoto said he wanted to restore dignity to the Assembly. Edoror that was earlier impeached as Speaker was made Deputy Speaker.
Explaining the rationale for the removal of Okonoboh, Adjoto said: “We came together to say no, that the institution is more deserving to be protected than the interest of an individual. Okonoboh wife suddenly turned herself to the 25th member of the Edo State House of Assembly. We are 24 members, but we were surprised that anything we discussed at the Executive Session, the wife will hear and start calling our wives to tell them what we discussed and they should tell their husbands not to do it.
“The wife uses the Speaker vehicle and convoy as if she is Mr. Speaker. The other day the wife and his son used the convoy to the NYSC camp and all policemen stood at attention for her thinking it was Mr. Speaker. That is desecration of the parliament.
“Mr. Speaker is not supposed to be a contractor but we discovered that he award contracts without due process. We have cautioned him severally. He refused to heed to our advice. We told him he represented an institution and he was our symbol especially with the way he conduct himself publicly.”
It was not a smooth ride for Adjoto as he first battled to retrieve three official cars attacked to the Speaker’s office from Ativie. The vehicles were a Toyota Prado jeep, two Hilux vans and a Lexus Jeep, 2016 model. For more than six months, Ativie refused to return the vehicles on the excuses that former Governor Adams Oshiomhole gave them to her as part of the deal to negotiate her stepping down for an Esan man to become Speaker.
Oshiomhole denied asking Ativie to take the vehicles and insisted that Ativie should be charged for stealing.
In October last year, Edoror, was impeached over alleged corruption and acts capable of causing division in the Assembly. He was removed after Speaker Adjoto got wind of the plot to remove him and install Edoror as Speaker.
Adjoto later told reporters that his decision to spent money to renovate the Assembly complex pitched him against some lawmakers because he did no shared the money.
He said, “They said I am allowing them to go home poor by renovating this Assembly complex instead of sharing the money to them. I wanted to leave something as a legacy for future lawmakers.”
At the end of the 6th Assembly, six lawmakers, Hon Chris Okaeben (Oredo West) Crosby Eribo (Egor) Gani Audu (Estako West 1) Henry Okhuarobo (Ikpoba-Okha) Victor Editor (Esan Central) and Kingsley Ugabi (Estako East) shunned the event in protest.
Out of the 24 lawmakers in the 6th Assembly, only eight lawmakers got re-election to the 7th Assembly
The Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon Osaigbovo Iyoha, said the 6th Assembly passed a total of 71 bills and 191 resolutions and explained that the bills affected Edo people lives positively.
Iyoha listed some of the bills to include the anti-CDA bill which proscribed activities of Community Development Association, the anti-cultism and cult related activities bill, violence against women and girl child bill and the Primary Health care bill.
He said the 6th Assembly had robust relationship with the executive arm because the state was working fine.
His words: “Our greatest achievement was the law to proscribe activities of CDA. You know many people suffered loss of land and investors were scared to come to the state.
“Governor Obaseki is working well. Under him, lawmakers were part of budget preparation process and drafting of executive bill. We cooperated with Obaseki because it made our jobs easier.”
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