Posted by By BASHIR UMAR, Abuja on
Special Adviser to the President on Assembly Matters, Mrs Florence Ita Giwa, has refuted report that the Ekiti State Sole Administrator, Tunji Olurin, defied the National Assembly ruling that he should vacate the Ekiti Government House at the expiration of the six-month emergency rule in the state.
Special Adviser to the President on Assembly Matters, Mrs Florence Ita Giwa, has refuted report that the Ekiti State Sole Administrator, Tunji Olurin, defied the National Assembly ruling that he should vacate the Ekiti Government House at the expiration of the six-month emergency rule in the state.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Mrs Ita-Giwa, said that legislative procedure required that the 'two chambers of the National Assembly had to meet one day after their separate decisions to formally ratify and confirm their votes and proceedings of the previous day in which the decisions were made."
According to her, procedure also required that 'the Clerk of the National assembly would formally serve Mr. President with the decisions of the two chambers via the office of the Special Adviser to Mr. President in NASS." She said to the best of her knowledge, those procedures had not been fulfilled.
Ita-Giwa said: 'The President is still awaiting the conclusion of these procedures and would act, as appropriate, as soon as he is formerly served."
In the same vein, the Attorney- General and Minister of Justice, Chief Adebayo Ojo (SAN), on Thursday, said Olurin would remain at the helm of affairs in Ekiti State until the resolution of the National Assembly, asking him to relinquish power is received by the Executive arm of government and is acted upon.
The minister explained that the decision of the Sole Administrator to stay put in the state does not amount to undermining the National Assembly but for the interest of peace and the rule of law.
It would be recalled that both chambers of the National Assembly had while rejecting the extension of a state of emergency in the State by President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday asked the State Administrator to vacate office and to handover to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Friday Aderemi.
But in a swift reaction to the position of the National Assembly, the Ekiti State Sole Administrator said he was still in control of the affairs of the State. Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ayo Akinyemi, Brigadier Olurin said he was not answerable to the National Assembly but to President Obasanjo who appointed him.
Justifying the position of the administrator in his office, the Federal Attorney General said, 'It is erroneous to say Olurin is undermining the National Assembly. He is right to await the decision of President Obasanjo because the President appointed him and the National Assembly ratified his appointment."
Until the resolution of the National Assembly is received by the executive arm and is acted upon, he remains there.
'As at now, the executive arm has not received any resolution from the National Assembly. I have confirmed this from appropriate quarters, we don't work based on newspaper reports. The person to handover is also a problem, but we will cross the bridge when we reached there."