Posted by By AKEEB ALARAPE, Ibadan on
The nine-man fact finding committee, set up by the House of Representatives to look into the simmering crisis in Oyo State House of Assembly wound up its sitting, Wednesday, without achieving its much desired objective of seeing the two factions of the House sit together.
The nine-man fact finding committee, set up by the House of Representatives to look into the simmering crisis in Oyo State House of Assembly wound up its sitting, Wednesday, without achieving its much desired objective of seeing the two factions of the House sit together.
Besides, President Olusegun Obasanjo and Deputy National Chairman (South) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, have been accused of fueling the crisis in the state by their actions and inactions.
Briefing newsmen after the committee met with two leaders of the party in the state, Chief Lamidi Adedibu and Senator Lekan Balogun, yesterday, Committee Chairman, Hon Alex Nwofe, stated that the hope of the committee to watch a joint sitting of the G18 and G14 of the crisis-ridden House was defeated,
The Oyo State House has been polarised into two factions since 2005 when a group of 18 lawmakers loyal to Adedibu, decided to impeach the state governor, Senator Rasidi Ladoja. The remaining 14 lawmakers in the 32-seat House, however, opposed the move.
The committee set up to look into the crisis continued its sitting yesterday at the Premier Hotel, where Adedibu, Senator Balogun and Dr Omololu Olunloyo came to bare their minds on the crisis.
Applauding the objective report by the media of the committee's activities since it arrived the state on Monday as well as the other reports of the simmering crisis since it started, Nwofe said the committee has to shift its meeting with leaders of the two factions of the House to a neutral place in Abuja.
'This our assignment is not an easy one. What we are trying to do is to see what is humanly possible to bring peace to Oyo State and the state House of Assembly. You have seen that the issue is not the members but the leaders. This is very glaring to us and we are trying to see if these people will have a joint session but the indicators show some red light.
'As I said earlier, as the leader of this delegation, the responsibility lies squarely on me. This is about our own security. This is about the security of lives of the people of Oyo state and there are such time s when decisions are taken which the majority may not like. But because we think it is good for them, we say let it be. Sometime you can make mistake. So, we are not going to have that joint session.
'What we have decided is that when we go to Abuja, we want the leaders of the House to come to us, which is a neutral ground. We are looking at Monday. If it is possible that is what we will do. Let them meet us. We will also be able to invite our own leadership so that they can talk to them, if they will be able to listen. The whole world will know what efforts we have made," Nwofe stated.
In their separate submissions to the committee, both Olunloyo and Balogun heaped the blame of the intractable in-house crisis on the Deputy National Chairman of the party, Olabode George, who they said had been misinforming the president about political affairs of the state.
While appearing before the committee, Balogun, who is also the Convener of the Reconciliation move to unite the House, likened the crisis in the state to the Rasputin factor that once existed in Russia when a palace jester arrogated to himself the de facto power of the ruler.
Balogun specifically gave a pathetic picture of the havoc the one-man show of Adedibu has wrecked on the party with active support of George, saying the candidates so far presented for the 2007 election on the platform of the party in the state were not party candidates but Adedibu's candidates.
'The state is gradually being turned to Adedibu's state. Of the three so-called senatorial candidates, one is Adedibu's biological son, the other is his son-in-law while the third is his adopted son. It is one old man that determines everything. This same old man says God has no committee. The party executives revolve around the old man-squad.
'This state, I am sorry for PDP. It will fail across board. The party is not allowed to function. How can Bode George come to this state to confirm the nomination of a candidate without people like us. But we will wait to see what happens in April. Bode George is misinforming Mr. President about the problem in the leadership of the PDP in Oyo State," Balogun stated.
In his own submission, Olunloyo pointed out that although the solution to the crisis lies between Ladoja and Adedibu, the fact-finding committee must not overlook the external factors that have all along been serving as catalyst in the crisis.
'There is external factor, a catalyst to the crisis, which is the President supported by Olabode George and Ali of Ali-Must-Go fame. It is a dangerous truth that Ibadan is a garrison command. Yes, Ibadan was a war camp. While nobody asked Ali to say that, nobody has appointed Adedibu as a garrison commander," Olunloyo stated, while urging the lawmakers to close rank.
Drawing from the provisions of the country's constitution, Olunloyo pointed out that since the House crisis started, neither the 19 pro-Adedibu lawmakers nor the 14 pro-Ladoja lawmakers have succeeded in satisfying their constitutional responsibilities as legislators, saying the two sides have failed to attend up to 181 sittings as specified by the constitution and, therefore, 'all their seats are considered vacant."
'So, all the seats of the two factions should be declared vacant because they have not done anything beneficial to the people of the state," the former governor stated.
Olunloyo also faulted the several claims by Adedibu that there was a pact between him (Adedibu) and Ladoja before the latter's election, saying giving 'our public fund as if it were Ladoja's father money is not compatible with public Oath of Office."
The former governor nonetheless said public officers should be reminded that there were some people with ‘excessive appetite for public fund', anytime they take the Oath of Office.
Earlier in the day, Chief Adedibu, who came with hordes of his supporters, maintained his previous position that Governor Ladoja was an ingrate concerning the role he played in his electoral victory in 2003.
Although, he described the mediatory role of the National Assembly as belated, he said that he was ready to abide with whatever decision the panel arrived at.
The self-acclaimed strongman of Ibadan politics did not fail to give the lawmakers the impression that he was the de facto of the politics of the state as he confirmed that he single-handedly picked all the serving elected officers of the party in the state.
'All the nine members of the House of Representatives, I chose them. I also nominated two out of the three senators. I single handedly nominated all the 33 chairmen and also the councillors. Whatever you hear from me is the real word. No matter what the press says, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala has been chosen. That is all", Adedibu stated.
The 78 year old politician, however, denied requesting for one- quarter of the security vote for Ladoja. But he said he never benefitted anything from Ladoja since he got to the office in 2003.