Ogun state Assembly suspends ex-Deputy Speaker, one other lawmaker

The crisis rocking the Ogun State House of Assembly took a new dimension as the Assembly, yesterday, suspended the former Deputy Speaker, Dare Kadiri, who is representing Ijebu North II State Constituency and his Remo North counterpart, Solomon Osho until further notice.

The suspension followed the adoption of a resolution, during a plenary presided over by the Speaker, Mr Olakunle Oluomo at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan in Abeokuta.

The Speaker said: “Order 6, Rule 19 (2) says that whereof a matter of privilege arises, it shall be taken into consideration immediately; in the note of that, I want to say that I received a resolution by the appropriate number of members of this house raising the issue of Privileges and it read thus”, Resolution 131/OG/2022- suspension of some members for the breach of the provision of the Legislative Houses (Power and Privileges) Act, 2017.

“Having found to have severally and contentiously breached the Rights and Privileges of the Ogun State House of Assembly and its Leadership, through violation of the provisions of Section 17 of Legislative Houses (Power and Privileges) Act, 2017, the following members, Mr Oluwadamilare Kadiri (Ijebu North II State Constituency) and Solomon Osho (Remo North Constituency) are, hereby, suspended from the House and its activities forthwith until further notice in line with the provisions of Sections 14 and 15 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017.

“Since this has been signed by the appropriate number of people, it requires no vote or anything, so they stand suspended.”

Vanguard reliably gathered that the decision to suspend the two lawmakers was not unconnected with their roles in exposing the Speaker’s alleged fraudulent activities, resulting in his arrest and arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, last week.

An Assembly source, who spoke in confidence, said the Speaker was determined to fight back and this informed why he perfected arrangements with his supporters to suspend the two lawmakers.

The source, who spoke to Vanguard under anonymity, said: “The Speaker has vowed to go after all those against him in the House. He addressed his people at Ifo Palace that he is innocent (about EFCC charges) and will use all means to crush his opponents.”

The EFCC, on September 6, 2022, arraigned Oluomo at a Federal High Court in Lagos on an 11-count charge bordering on N2.475billion money laundering and forgery.