Following the proclamation and the wind up of the Kogi state house of assembly and the inauguration of the sixth legislative arm of government few days ago, crises of leadership seems to have rocked the assembly due to lack of adherent to due process in the election of principal officers of the house. OYIBO SALIHU examines the intrigues and the manipulation by some PDP members of the house.
It is apparent that the People Democratic Party (PDP) the ruling party in the state since 2003 to 2015 had absolute control over the assembly. Going by past records of the house, the PDP in 2003-2007 had 24 seats , AD had only 1, 2003 -2007 PDP won 20 seats and the defunct AC had 5, in the immediate past legislative house PDP also control the house with 21 members leaving 4 seats for ANPP and ACN now APC.
This development however made the ruling party to always have their ways in any decision that comes up in the house as they conveniently have the required two third to over ran the opposition parties in the house.
From the a fore mentioned record, the fifth legislative arm was seen as a one way traffic as the minorities in the house cannot challenged the majority because of their insignificant numbers.
But the situation changed recently according to Blueprint findings as the wing of change that virtually gave an edge to opposition party propelled, the All Progressive Party to win 11 seats out the 25 that made up of the house.
The ruling PDP only had 14 seats which end the privilege and the lordship the party most often than not enjoyed in the past, but the party according to some political observers said the ruling might have forgotten drastic reduction in their strength during the election of principal officers of the house.
The crises of leadership erupted shortly after the inauguration of the sixth legislative by the state governor Captain Idris Wada and the Oath of Allegiance as well as Oath of Office been administered by the Clerk of the House on the newly Legislators .
The member representing Igalamela/Odolu state Constituency in the house who happened to return to the house having served in the fifth legislative session , Friday Sani (PDP) read out nominees for the positions of Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Majority Leader, Chief Whip, Minority leader among other principal officers shortly after their inauguration.
The nominations according to the rule of the house suppose to follow by secondment then second nomination before the casting of votes, but all of these were jettison by the clerk of the house making the whole process look like selection instead of election.
As the Swearing-in of the Speaker was going on, the nominations did not go well with the 11 APC members in the House, as they alleged that the Clerk had not followed due process, the contention led to a rowdy session on the floor of the house.
The APC legislature in the House walked out, while the 14 PDP Legislature witnessed the Swearing-In ceremony and adjourned the sitting until August 13
The angry lawmakers said they could not wait to support the action of their colleague in the Peoples Democratic Party, which they described as a mockery of the hard earned democracy.
It was obvious that the concerted efforts made by the member representing Ankpa 1 constituency, Ibrahim Abdumumuni (APC) to raise a counter-motion was ignored by the clerk of the House a situation that forced all the APC lawmakers to stage a walk-out and boycott the election of principals officers.
Addressing newsmen in Lokoja shortly after the purported election , the lawmakers said their action stemmed from the fact that the list read by Friday Sani was prepared from the Government House and handed to the PDP for nomination and subsequent ratification.
According to him “we have seen the hand of the state government in this act of gangsterism that took place at the inception of the sixth legislative house. How can they prepare a list from government house and expect us to accept it without our input?
“If the PDP have so soon forgotten that their number do not form two third, then they should go back and check the list of the seats they won after the state house of assembly election in the state.”
The spokesman of the group, Ibrahim Abdulmumuni, further said that the APC legislators do not recognise the pronounced list saying , it is too early for the executive to dictate the proceeding of the legislative arms of government.
He added that “We admonish the state government to stay clear of the running of the House regarding the picking of Principal Officers. We are not party to the names nominated”.
Venting his anger further, Abdulmumuni maintained that they boycotted the process because the nomination does not follow due process, concluding that at the moment the House does not have principal officers.
He described the action as an act of illegality and impunity on the part of the executive who thinks they can do things as they did in the past when the minority were very few and weak in the house, saying they have hardly taken off when they were being caged, short changed, monitored and dictated to, even when the house supposed to be autonomous.
The APC group however gave 24 hours to those concern to redress the situation and allow due process to be observed in picking principal officers for the House, stressing that failure to comply they might be compelled to elects their own parallel leaders to run the affairs of the new assembly.
It is crystal clear that the PDP gimmick was to hastily enforced their choice of principal officers on the opposition members believing that they could alien with some of the PDP members to have their ways.
The APC having identified their strength in the house insisted that due process should be allowed to take its course in electing officers for the house. Reliable source in the house said if the PDP members heeded to free and fair election , the ruling party would not be able to produce Hon. Momoh Jimoh Lawal as the speaker of the house going by his poor performance as the speaker of the fifth legislative arm .
The source said on several occasions the axe of impeachment was dangled on Momohjimoh Lawal but escaped every attempt through the state government protection.
Commenting on the incident, a constitutional lawyer Barrister Nuhu Sule said the whole process is a shameful thing to democracy, saying the state government can never exonerated itself from this saga that if not properly handled can tear the house apart.
Sule added that the way and manner the PDP in the house were fast to muscle out the APC clearly shown that they have hidden agenda or they were acting government script.
The embattled Speaker of the house, Rt Honourable Momoh Jimoh Lawal described the reason that made the nine All Progressive Congress (APC) legislators to walk out of the assembly chamber as not tenable.
Lawal who stated this through his Special Adviser on media Mr felix Udebu , said the walk out by the opposition legislators was premeditated and ill conceived plan to frustrate the activities of the People Democratic Party (PDP).
Lawal questioned the rationale behind the action of the minority group to impose their will on the majority, the speaker described the threat by the APC lawmakers to form a parallel house as undemocratic and a variance to any form of logic
According to him “ it is not wise for the new assembly to start having problem because some members wanted to have their ways. We supposed to work together as a term so that at the end of our tenure we will be able to accomplish our legislative activities for the benefit of the electorate that gave us the mandate”
The Speaker, however called on them to tow the line of better reasoning and join hand with the majority members for the good and betterment of the state.
He assured the APC lawmakers that the leadership of the house would be fair to all members and be treated with respect and decorum, adding that while the minority would always be allowed to have their stay as they should be prepared for the majority to have its way.
Also commenting of the crises, a Chieftain of APC in Kogi State Barrister James Ocholi described the development as shameful development, saying the 21st century legislature should not have allowed external forces to dictate who become their leaders.
He noted, “all the house of assembly members of Kogi State has the same power, the same strength and the same mandate from their constituencies. Nobody is superior to one another, even the Speaker is not superior to the minority member all of them are equal.
