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IBADAN - Chief Rashidi Ladoja reacting last night, insisted that he remained governor on account of a court ruling earlier in the day in Ibadan that nullified the establishment of the panel that probed him.
IBADAN - Chief Rashidi Ladoja reacting last night, insisted that he remained governor on account of a court ruling earlier in the day in Ibadan that nullified the establishment of the panel that probed him. The State Assembly based his impeachment on the panel's report.
Chief Ladoja in a statement said:
This morning, the High Court of Justice of Oyo State of Nigeria presided over by Justice M.O. Bolaji-Yusuff nullified the purported resolution of the House of Assembly to set up a seven-man investigation panel to probe allegations against me on the grounds that the process by which the resolution was passed violated Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution.
For the avoidance of doubt, that section states that not less than two-third of the 32 members of the Oyo State House of Assembly is required to set up the investigation panel.
The obvious implication, therefore, is that I remain the constitutionally elected Governor of Oyo State and anybody who deludes himself to be occupying the position is just a comic pretender or an incorrigible patient of the sanatorium suffering from congenital hallucination.
This ruling must bring a lot of relief to the millions of citizens of Oyo State who have watched in deep shock and horror the comedy of errors and the macabre dance of shame perpetrated by the forces of backwardness, ignorance and illiteracy who have desecrated the sacrosanct letters of our constitution and stained the portals of justice.
I thank the masses of Oyo State for their calmness in the face of the raging storm instigated by anarchists. I thank the residents of the great city of Ibadan for refusing to get into the gutter to fight those who are maddened by the lust for power because observers would not be able to draw the difference.
I hereby express my sincere gratitude to the civic organisations, particularly the Oyo State Branch of the Nigeria Bar Association whose rightful indignation against the criminal violations of the Rule of Law and the fundamental principle of the right to fair hearing woke up the whole world to the show of shame and the drama of greed which have been on parade in the historic city of Ibadan, the largest city in West Africa.
From the beginning, I have been fortified by my faith in the principle of total submission to Allah, the Almighty who gives and takes power and by the sacred letters of the Constitution which has put in place values and procedures to make sure that a rebellious, conservative minority does not oppress the silent but progressive majority.
I refer to the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who demonstrated exemplary commitment to the spirit of our constitutional democracy by refusing to be drawn into the partisan brawl and insisting that the rule of law must prevail. I am confident that, now that the court of law has pronounced on the position of the law, Mr. President shall do everything possible to live up to the expectations of the civilised world by assisting the law to take its rightful course and rescuing our nation from the current of political rascality.
I thank members of the press for standing on the side of the millions of the oppressed people of Nigeria whose hope in a brilliant future for their children and grandchildren is based on the respect all of us give to the constitution of our country.
I call on all citizens of Oyo State to join me in prayers to God to save our state from the hands of mischief makers and trouble makers and usher in a reign of peace, order, harmony and tranquility.