Violence Erupts In Ogun Assembly As Speaker Is Suspended

The Ogun State House of Assembly is in the news again and for the wrong reason, as the Speaker, Suraji Adekanbi, and some other members have been suspended for alleged maladministration.

This followed the suspension of four members of the Assembly – Remi Hazzan, Adijat Oladapo, Job Akintan and John Obafemi – by the Assembly leadership over the composition of the membership of the Assembly’s Tender Board which has been a subject of controversy among the lawmakers.

But in their response the four members and 10 others sympathetic to their cause announced the suspension of the Speaker, Mr. Adekunbi, his deputy, Mr. Tola Banjo and another member simply identified as Oluomo.

They alleged high handedness by the Speaker, accusing him of an attempt to impose his cronies on the lawmakers over the membership of the Assembly’s Tenders Board, and fraud in the award of contracts in the Assembly. The disagreement resulted in fisticuffs and the mace was destroyed in the process.

Explaining his role in the incident, the Speaker absolved the leadership of the Assembly of wrongdoing, insisting that it acted in good faith by suspending the four lawmakers.

Earlier, in a statement signed by Mr. Adekunbi and the clerk of the Assembly, Mr. Muyiwa Adenopo, the Speaker insisted that the four members remained suspended and should not be seen within the Assembly premises.

The statement added that the four lawmakers were suspended for alleged “unparliamentary behaviour” and gross disrespect for the state legislature.
It is feared that this development signals another round of leadership crisis in the state’s legislative arm, which was also rocked by leadership crisis for most of the last administration.