My removal as Speaker of the Ekiti Assembly is illegal - Aribisogan

Gboyega Aribisogan, who was impeached Monday as Speaker of the Ekiti State Legislative Assembly, says his impeachment is illegal.

Mr. Aribisogan was impeached by 17 of the 25 House members just six days after he was elected to the post. But he says the lawmakers' action is illegal, so he remains the speaker.

He was elected president last Tuesday to replace Funminiyi Afuye, who died suddenly last month. But its emergence went against the will of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in the state.

The party had endorsed Olubunmi Adelugba for the post and she finally took it on Monday after Mr Aribisogan was removed from office.

The election of Mr. Aribisogan had precipitated a crisis that led police to shut down the assembly compound for fear of attacks on House members.

The 17 members who fired Mr. Aribisogan were found to have converged between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. at the tightly-secured assembly compound to execute the impeachment.

Mr. Aribisogan condemned the way his impeachment was carried out, saying he would seek judicial intervention "to save democracy from total collapse".

Mr. Aribisogan and six other members loyal to him were also suspended indefinitely by their colleagues on Monday, for allegedly sabotaging the passage of the Supplementary Finance Bill 2022.

But Mr. Aribisogan said the suspension was also illegal.

"In view of the above, we hereby call upon the government and people of Ekiti State and all constituted authorities to note that Rt. Hon. Olugboyega Aribisogan remains the Speaker of the Assembly of Ekiti State,” he said.

“As we urge the Ekiti to be vigilant, they must remain calm in the face of the blatant subversion of democratic principles that took place in the House of Assembly today. We remain convinced that justice and the rule of law will prevail.

"The general public should note that Rule 9, Rule II, of the Standing Orders of the House clearly states that before the Speaker can be removed from office, he must receive formal notice of allegations and have 72 hours to respond. he said.

Ekiti Assembly (PHOTO CREDIT: Channels TV)

“The rules further state that such response will be considered by an ad hoc committee established by the House for this purpose before a vote on impeachment of the President can be taken on the floor of the House.

"Today's illegal assembly was so steeped in illegality that disgruntled members would not pretend to abide by these rules by proceeding with the alleged impeachment of the Speaker.

“It should also be noted that the members present at the illegal assembly did not reach the statutory number of seventeen which, according to the rules of procedure, can remove a president. If the disgruntled members dispute this fact, they should provide the video recordings of today's mock proceedings."

Mr. Aribisogan also condemned what he described as "the illegal invasion of the House of Assembly by seven disgruntled members at the unparliamentary hour of 6:00 a.m., to effect his impeachment.

He said it was a shameless display of naked power and a blatant abuse of power for lawmakers to hold a session under strict police cover to impeach him, saying it does not resist the law.

"The Ekiti are aware that the House of Assembly has adjourned sine die following the election of Rt. Hon. Aribisogan as Speaker on November 15, 2022. O...