….NEW LEASE OF LIFE UNDER SPEAKER ADELUGBA
BY ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA
Today, 21st December, 2022 marks one month that a change of leadership was effected in the Ekiti State House of Assembly with the emergence of Rt. Hon. Olubunmi Adelugba, as the Speaker.
Rt. Hon. Adelugba, who represents Emure Constituency, was elected as the Speaker by 17 members of the Assembly at a plenary held on 21st November, 2022 thus making history by emerging as the first woman Speaker in the annals of the politics of Ekiti State.
Her election was consequent upon the impeachment of former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olugboyega Aribisogan during the plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Hakeem Jamiu, in a bid to right the perceived wrongs of the alleged compromised election of 15th November, 2022 which produced the impeached Speaker.
The fresh election was also in obedience to the directive of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party that produced all the Ekiti Assembly legislators and its Elders’ Advisory Council that Ekiti South senatorial district should be allowed to hold on to the position of the Speaker until the end of the tenure of the Sixth Assembly in early June, 2023.
The former Speaker was impeached from office by 17 out of the remaining 25 members for allegedly blocking the passage of the Supplementary Bill 2022 which the House had received shortly before the former Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi left office; masterminding the compromise of the election of a new Speaker to replace the late former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Funminiyi Afuye on November 15; alleged deployment of thugs to the vicinity of the Assembly thereby putting the lives of legislators, workers and visitors in danger; alleged sponsoring of individuals believed to be juju men to the vicinity of the House; taking the internal affairs of the House to the media, among others.
Apart from the impeachment of Rt. Hon. Aribisogan, some of the resolutions passed by the Assembly included the indefinite suspension of the former Speaker and six other members namely Hon. Tajudeen Akingbolu (Ekiti West 1) Hon. Tope Ogunleye (Ilejemeje), Hon. Adeyemi Ajibade (Moba 1), Hon. Yemisi Ayokunle (Ekiti Southwest 1), Hon. Kemi Balogun (Ado 2), Hon. Goke Olajide (Efon).
Former Speaker Aribisogan and six other legislators were suspended without pay and were barred from 1.5 kilometer radius of the premises of the Assembly Complex for their alleged “unpatriotic and unparliamentary conduct capable of threatening the peace of the state.”
Since the emergence of Rt. Hon. Adelugba as Speaker, the House has returned to the path of robust legislative duties at the parliamentary, plenary and oversight functions in giving quality representations to constituents and assisting the executive arm to smoothen the wheel of governance.
All these were made possible by the rapprochement, reconciliatory gestures and inclusive leadership style of Madam Speaker in her bid to ensure that harmony returns to the Assembly for it to be able to perform its constitutional duties and add value to governance in the Land of Honour.
Since her ascension to the highest legislative seat in the state, the House under Speaker Adelugba has witnessed some positive developments which are pointers to the fact that the Sixth Assembly is on the path of making the best use of the remainder of its tenure to make history and leave remarkable imprints on the sand of time.
What were the positive developments witnessed in the Ekiti Parliament under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Adelugba in the last one month? These include:
1. PASSAGE OF THE SUPPLEMENTARY APPROPRIATION BILL 2022 AND ASSENT BY MR. GOVERNOR
As earlier stated, the alleged blocking of the passage of the Supplementary Bill was one of the reasons why Rt. Hon. Aribisogan was removed as the Speaker. The gesture was one of the resolutions passed on the day Rt. Hon. Adelugba was elected Speaker. Apart from being the Chief Whip, it should be noted that Rt. Hon. Adelugba was the Chairperson of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation which had commenced work on the Supplementary Appropriation Bill before it passage was stalled over intrigues around emergence of Speaker which predated the death of the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Afuye. Following the passage of the Supplementary Appropriation Bill of N21,915,046,415.40, it was assented to by Governor Biodun Oyebanji on 2nd December, 2022 and this has given the state government financial lifeline to meet some of its needs and smoothen the wheel of governance.
2. ACCELERATION OF WORK ON THE 2023 APPROPRIATION BILL
The 2023 Appropriation Bill with the size of N113.5 billion was presented to the Assembly on 3rd November, 2022 by Governor Biodun Oyebanji with the Deputy Speaker, Rt Hon. Hakeem Jamiu presiding. The pace of work on the Appropriation Bill was slowed down by moves to fill the then vacant position of the Speaker. But shortly after Rt. Hon. Adelugba rose to the position of Speaker, work on the 2023 Appropriation Bill has moved faster as Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) came on the dates given to them to defend their budgetary allocations before the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation. With the work on the 2023 Appropriation Bill now at the advanced stage, it would not be long before Mr. Governor gives his assent to it for the Bill to officially become a Law with the implementation to begin in earnest.
3. PEACE MOVES IN THE HOUSE YIELDING POSITIVE RESULTS
In the last one month of the speakership of Rt. Hon. Adelugba, her leadership in a bid to ensure harmony, oneness and unity among all the members, facilitated peace moves to ensure that the dust raised by the sacking of her immediate predecessor, Rt. Hon. Aribisogan, settled to give way to peace in the legislative arm. Apart from personally waving olive branch to Rt. Hon. Aribisogan and the six other legislators who supported him, Rt. Hon. Adelugba reached out to them to sheathe their swords for peace to reign. This she did through personal phone calls, sending of emissaries, personal visits, among other gestures. Apart from these steps, Rt. Hon. Adelugba was also instrumental to the intervention of the State Council of Traditional Rulers on the matter. It is on record that the Ekiti Obas at a meeting held at the Palace of the Ewi of Ado Ekiti on 28th November, 2022, advised Rt. Hon. Aribisogan to withdraw a suit he filed against the Assembly from the court while the Assembly authorities should also give him a soft landing. The result of the peace initiative was the return of six of the legislators who were supporters of Rt. Hon Aribisogan after meeting some conditions given to them which led to the lifting of their suspension. The six hitherto suspended legislators who had resumed their legislative duties are Hon. Tajudeen Akingbolu (Ekiti West 1), Hon. Tope Ogunleye (Ilejemeje), Hon. Adeyemi Ajibade (Moba 1), Hon. Yemisi Ayokunle (Ekiti Southwest 1), Hon. Kemi Balogun (Ado 2) and Hon. Goke Olajide (Efon). They have also withdrawn from the suit challenging their suspension in court. With the lifting of the suspension on the six legislators and their return to the House, only Rt. Hon. Aribisogan is now left in the suit challenging his impeachment.
4. SPEAKER’S FAMILIARISATION VISIT TO ALL OFFICES IN THE ASSEMBLY COMPLEX
The Speaker undertook a visit to all offices in the House of Assembly Complex on 30th November, 2022. She took the step to familiarize herself with the workers and see them in their working environment. It gave her an opportunity to exchange pleasantries with the workers who were happy to see her in their offices. It also afforded the Speaker to assess their working tools and see areas in which the authorities of the Assembly could assist the workers to perform well in service delivery.
5. SPECIAL PLENARY ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
The Assembly on 12th December, 2022 held a Special Plenary Session on Gender-Based Violence as part of activities marking the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The Special Plenary which was chaired by the First Lady, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji, also had the immediate past Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Olawale Fapohunda, SAN as the Keynote Speaker. It was attended by representatives of ministries, agencies, religious leaders, civil society, professional bodies and other interest groups. The Assembly had passed landmark laws against Gender-Based Violence like rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, child molestation, child labour, among others into law but the practices still persist. The Special Plenary was a bold statement against Gender-Based Violence by the Assembly under Speaker Adelugba who called for more robust prosecution of offenders of laws criminalizing Gender-Based Violence in the state. With this gesture the Assembly has expressed its readiness to tighten the noose on rapists, paedophiles, spouse beaters, among others.
6. IMPENDING LEGISLATION ON COMPULSORY MEDICAL CHECK-UP FOR PUBLIC OFFICERS
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adelugba and the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Jamiu, led other legislators to the Funmi Adunni Olayinka Diagnostic and Wellness Centre at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) where they submitted themselves to comprehensive medical check-up to examine their health status. The legislators were commended by the EKSUTH Chief Medical Director, Prof. Kayode Olabanji, for showing good example to members of the public by undergoing the health check in a public health facility. Rt. Hon. Adelugba who said the death of the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Afuye prompted the move noted the House is planning a legislation that would make medical check-up compulsory for public officers and civil servants at least once in a year to prevent avoidable deaths in service and ensure a healthy workforce. The exercise which was the first of its kind in the history of the Assembly saw the legislators, some of whom came with their spouses, undergoing different types of tests at the Centre which boasts of state-of-the-art facilities and qualified personnel on ground to perform the task. Rt. Hon. Adelugba said the state legislators have demonstrated by their gesture the need for citizens to submit themselves for medical scrutiny, know their health status and ensure early treatment of any health problems in their bodies.
7. PRESENTATION OF SCORECARD AND EMPOWERMENT OF CONSTITUENTS BY MADAM SPEAKER
The Speaker on 3rd December, 2022 gave account of her stewardship to her constituents in Emure Constituency since her election into the House in 2019 during this year’s Emure Unity Day. She used the occasion to donate cash and food items to widows in the town and also donated two brand new operational motorcycles to local security agencies, one for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and one for the Ekiti State Security Network, otherwise known as Amotekun Corps. Rt. Hon. Adelugba listed on her scorecard the projects she had influenced, attracted or sponsored to include the extension of road to Supare and Eporo, renovation of the General Hospital, installation of solar powered lights, capacity building programmes, donation of academic materials to schools, free medical tests and treatment, scholarships to indigent students, commissioning of police station, food and cash donations, among others. She was honoured with an award of excellence, “Omoluka of Emure Ekiti” by the Emure Community led by the Elemure of Emure Ekiti, Oba Emmanuel Adebowale Adebayo, Atayerobiagogo Aminmin III. Madam Speaker has laid a good example in quality representation, giving account of her stewardship, poverty alleviation, building the capacity of her constituents and bringing projects to her constituency.
Ogunmola is the Special Adviser (Media) to the Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly