National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has blamed the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki for the political tension in the state.
There has been a crisis in the state assembly since 2014, but became worsened when only nine out of the 24 members-elect were inaugurated by Obaseki in 2019.
The tussle to get the remaining 14 lawmakers inaugurated has sparked a number or controversies. However, the crisis took a new dimension on Thursday, with the inauguration of the 14 embattled lawmakers and emergence of a new speaker.
Read Also: 17 Edo Lawmakers ‘Impeach’ Speaker
The latest crisis in the parliament was ignited by the removal of the deputy speaker of the assembly, Yekini Idiaye, on Wednesday, barely 48 hours after he threw his weight behind Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September governorship poll.
Read Also: Breaking: Edo Assembly Impeaches Deputy Speaker Idiaye, Elects Asoro As Replacement
Now, the state has two factional speakers, one loyal to Obaseki while the other is loyal to the suspended APC Chairman Adams Oshiomole.
Tinubu in a statement on Friday night said Obaseki’s impeachable offence and strong “arm tactics of dictators” is the cause of the political violence in the state.
He stated;
The recent actions of the Governor of Edo State represent the gravest possible assault on constitutional democracy and the rule of law and escalation of violence and tension in the state he purports to govern.
Not satisfied with making a mockery of our constitution by blocking the timely inauguration of two-thirds of the elected members of the Edo State House of Assembly, Governor Obaseki has now resorted to the strong-arm tactics of dictators.
Tinubu said the governor actions showed that he has placed himself above the legislature, “deciding who gets in and who is shut out” and;
He has betrayed contempt for the people of his state and, unfortunately, his ignorance of Nigeria’s constitutional order. As a Governor, he ought to know better than to obstruct the functioning of his own legislature, but perhaps he is in need of a quick lesson.
According to APC national leader;
Although Governor Obaseki’s conduct in the past year is undoubtedly impeachable, these legislators have made no threat to impeach the Governor. Their only desire is to peacefully perform the duties asked of them by the constituents who elected them.
The former Lagos State governor declared that the Governor has spent state funds to “thwart the very apparatus of the state government he was sworn to uphold.”
He stated;
First, he sponsors hoodlums to deface, indeed destroy, parts of the House of Assembly Building in Benin, feigning the building is undergoing renovation. Then, he imports sand and gravels to prevent access to the assembly complex.
Tinubu added;
In effect, the man has spent state funds to thwart the very apparatus of the state government he was sworn to uphold. He has squandered public money to defeat the very will of the public. This is tragic beyond words.
APC national leader added;
The rule of law and preservation of democracy is too important to sacrifice at the altar of any one man’s ambition. Governor Obaseki’s woeful leadership of Edo State will hopefully be brought to an end soon by the very people whose rights he has so carelessly trampled upon.
One can only hope that the damage he is doing to the most important of the state’s democratic institutions can just as easily be repaired.
