Members of Osun State House of Assembly are divided over allegation of misappropriation against the Speaker of the House, Timothy Owoeye.
The situation, according to findings, has so deteriorated that members allegedly muted removing the Speaker over what they described as “high handedness”.
Sources within the Assembly disclosed that the House got huge sums of money that was meant for members welfare during the last festive season, but members were not satisfied with the amount given to them by the Speaker.
Findings revealed that each member was given N250,000 which they considered too little from the total amount, hence members threat to impeach the Speaker.
The lawmakers, it was gathered, met on Thursday, January 19, 2023, to discuss the issue with a view to ensuring that the Speaker’s “over bearing influence” is checked.
A lawmaker, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that the lawmakers were displeased with the Speaker’s disposition on the issue.
“Well, some persons told us the Speaker used a substantial part of the money to buy food items as present for staffers of the Assembly during the festive season.
“But that ought to have been done with member’s consent. We are still on the matter and we will get to the root,” the lawmaker said.
However, the Speaker’s spokesperson, Kunle Alabi, disclosed that there was no infighting among the lawmakers, saying whatever the lawmaker got for welfare is their legitimate earnings.
“As far as Osun State House of Assembly is concerned, we remain one irrespective of whatever change in government.
“There was no need for money creating any division. Whatever the House got was its legitimate earning,” he said.
Osun: ‘Stop dreaming of returning to power’ – Human Rights Activist Tells Oyetola
Adeniyi Sulaiman, a human rights activist, has advised the immediate past governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, and his supporters led by the current speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mr Timothy Owoeye, to stop dreaming of coming back to govern the state in the next four years.
The rights activist was reacting to the recent insinuations of Oyetola and Owoeye to stage a come back to power in the state through the back door after losing the July 16, 2022, governorship election to Governor Ademola Adeleke.
In a signed statement by Sulaiman and made available to journalists on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, he told the both leaders of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in the state “to stop their evil dreaming of coming back to governance of the state for this electioneering and governing period of Governor Adeleke administration.”
Sulaiman, who is the executive chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice, CHRSJ, urged them to accept their loss at the July 16, 2022, governorship election in good faith and prepare for the 2026 governorship election in Osun State.
According to him, ” Thinking of manipulating the electoral and judicial process if Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu won the presidential election to stage a comeback to power through the back door cannot be fruitful for Gboyega Oyetola because the law in respect of Electoral Act 2022 has settled everything, and no president can manipulate such electoral process again.
“Nigeria is not a banana republic where law would be made to satisfy the whims and caprices of Oyetola and Tinubu. For instance, all the opposition governors the courts ruled in their favour led to the conduct of staggering governorship elections in the country today were during the period of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidency and heaven did not fall.”
Sulaiman emphatically stated that the people of Osun State had given four years mandate to govern the state to Governor Adeleke on July 16, 2022, and God had stamped the mandate on November 27, 2022, stating that no living mortal can change it because “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
Speaking on the ongoing Osun State Election Petition Tribunal, the pro-democracy activist noted that the election tribunal was not set up to favour any party but to deal with post-election issues, adding that the issues before the tribunal in respect of the July 16, 2022, governorship election were very clear, and the error of over voting in alleged six polling units would affect all the political parties that participated in the election.
Source: Vanguard
