11 Ogun lawmakers sue Bankole

Olayinka Olukoya, Abeokuta - 15.04.2009

ELEVEN members of the Ogun State House of Assembly who are loyalists of Governor Gbenga Daniel, have sued the Speaker of the House of Representaives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, over the plan by the upper house to take over the legislative functions of the state assembly.

The lawmakers said that by the provision of Section 11 (4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the House of Representatives cannot unilaterally exercise the power as it said that the powers were conferred jointly in the National AssemblyThe Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Mr.Tunji Egbetokun, has assured residents of the state that there is end in sight to the on-going face-off between some 15 members of the House and the governor, Chief Gbenga Daniel.

Egbetokun said this while briefing the press after a marathon meeting which was held at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Abeokuta.

The meeting started at exactly 3.15 p.m with Governor Daniel presiding. The Speaker said that the day’s meeting was inconclusive but assured that the two parties were making progress in finding lasting solutions to the crisis.

He said: “There is no outcome yet, the meeting is in progress, we only adjourned to continue some other time, maybe tomorrow. But as you can see, there is end in sight to this crisis. Even when the war is going on intermittently you go to the roundtable. So, that’s exactly what is happening now. The peace we have now is relative; we are going to have excellent peace soon.”

He explained that the House of Assembly Service Commission and the Self Accounting Laws had been assented to by the governor and “we are asking for its implementation which gladly enough, he had agreed to implement.”

Egbetokun further told journalists that the plenary session of the state House of Assembly would resume within the next 48 hours.