Ondo House of Assembly, your name is impunity -By Festus Adedayo

There is a lingering parliamentary crisis right now in Ondo State. The State House of Assembly, which was in receipt of and indeed, theatre of the fallout of the last gubernatorial debacle in the state, is yet to unwrap itself from this crisis. Four lawmakers, Favour Tomomowo, Tomide Akinribido and Wale William-Adewinle, and Deputy Speaker, Iroju Ogundeji, had taken the parliament to court for what they considered its impunity in suspending them from office. They contended and the world agreed with them, that they were being vilified for siding with the embattled Deputy Governor of the state, Agboola Ajayi, a political enemy of the governor, Rotimi Akeredolu. They thus refused to sign an impeachment notice for his ouster. Affronted by their suspension, the four lawmakers had taken the parliament to a state High Court sitting in Akure, which ruled that this decision was null and void. Rather than heed the ruling of the court, the House had behaved as law unto itself, refusing to reinstate the lawmakers.

Rotimi aketi Akeredolu

What is going on in the Ondo State legislature is impunity of the highest grade. All men of goodwill must persuade the lawmakers not to continue to disgrace the sacred and hallowed chambers and the course of democracy and revert to the route of sanity. Political considerations and affiliations should never have any bearing on legislation and legislative exercises. Governor Akeredolu should also wade into this drift so as to safeguard his name as a foremost officer of the temple of justice. It is repugnant to hear that legislators in a state administered by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria are bringing good governance and democracy to ridicule with such magisterial impunity.