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14—SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 3, 2019
EDO: How our trouble
started – Speaker
Political solution being
foreclosed for court solution
‘My colleagues said they would
only do what Oshiomhole wanted'
Rt. Hon Frank Okiye, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly speaks on the crisis in the
state legislature, the threat of take over by the Senate and the role of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in the crisis, among others.
•Rt. Hon
Frank
Okiye
You’re the speaker of a house that is the
source of controversy now. How did the
problem in Edo State Assembly start? Let’s
have the details from you.
Before the elections, the 24 APC
lawmakers who were candidates as at then
were already interacting and some of them
even as candidates were already seeing me
as their possible speaker because of the way
I emerged as candidate. So, the relationship
was cordial as candidates then and even
when we won the elections. So, going into
the election that took place on March 9, we
all did campaigns together and we
congratulated ourselves upon our victory.
In fact, when all the 24 were declared
winners, they started calling me their
speaker, even before we got sworn in. About
eight of them gathered and met with me,
two of them were even negotiating what
offices they could hold and what committee
they could be assigned. Everything was going
on smoothly within our fold until the body,
Edo Peoples Movement, emerged and then
trouble started.
What did the Edo Peoples Movement do?
I just noticed that these same persons that
we were speaking cordially as brothers and
soon-to-be colleagues started foot-dragging
and some were not even answering my calls
any longer, then I knew that there was a
problem. At the end of the
day, everything snowballed
into whether the lawmakerelects
were willing to be
inaugurated. They now
started saying that they were
waiting for the green light
from Oshiomhole and his
stance on the house
leadership; that if he asked
them to vote otherwise, they
would do so, but if he asked
them not to vote otherwise
then I could be sure of their
votes. That was how the
whole problem started with
the horsetrading and
lobbying.
What was the position of
the Edo state chapter of the
APC when the horsetrading
commenced since all 24 are
from the same party?
The party actually stood up
to be counted and one must
commend the effort of the
party in the state. The party
made its stance known as to the sharing of
offices for the Assembly based on the
principle of equity to ensure that no zone or
constituency in the state was left out. They
carried everyone along including those who
refused to come for their inauguration. That
was why its irritating and unfair when
people said Governor Obaseki was the one
who handpicked principal members of the
house. In fairness to him, he was not involved
in the process. It was the party that devised
The section of the
constitution which
empowered National
Assembly to take
over the functions of
a State House of
Assembly is clearly
and unambiguously
stated in sections
11(4) and 11(5) of the
Constitution
the framework on the emergence of the
leadership of the House based on the
principle of equal representation. Go and
check it, the constituted leadership in the
house is balanced and every constituency
has something to show. The party actually
came out clearly with its stand as to who are
the people that should occupy each of the
offices and our names were declared in the
presence of stakeholders of the party, all 24
members-elect were present at the meeting.
Why didn’t they align with the decision
of the party?
They were saying all sorts of things and it
was at that point we started having all the
problems that we are now having. They said
Comrade Oshiomhole, the National
Chairman of our party, must tell them this
and tell them that. They said he was the only
one that could talk to them and eventually
they told me that Comrade had ordered that
they should go the other way. Later, they
came and said they wanted money. I told
them that I had not been inaugurated and
they could not be making a demand for
money. They said no, that they knew that
Governor Obaseki wouldn’t give them
money because some of them knew the
governor very well and that if he didn’t give
them money at that time, he would not give
them again. They also said
that they figured the
governor was in support of
my candidacy and they
would not agree because
they didn’t want anyone
who had the support of the
governor as the speaker. So,
until the party met with us
and rolled out the list of the
people they wanted in the
office, we all thought it
would be easy and over.
What eventually
culminated at the
inauguration day of the
elected members?
It was clear that they had
other ideas than the wish of
the party. On the Monday
morning that we were
supposed to be
inaugurated, they acted
strangely. You would call
Mr A, he wouldn’t answer;
same went for Mr. B. Some
said they were in Abuja,
some said they were in
Sapele, some said that they had not heard
from the Comrade and all kinds of stories
but we didn’t know that they went to address
a press conference. But before that day, we
were all like brothers, we were all meeting
like a team, we were all together in the Code
of Conduct Bureau. So, the idea of saying
some persons had to be invited from a
distance was not there. So, for them to say
that they were not invited or the invitation
wasn’t published in newspapers was just an
•Obaseki
excuse to invalidate what was legally and
logically done. On the inauguration day,
about five of us were there at the Assembly
at about 2:30pm and we waited for the rest
of them. Before we knew it, some others
joined us. When we got to about nine, that
was around 4pm or thereabout, we told the
Clerk that the law does not say everyone
must be complete and that since we had
formed a quorum, we could then go ahead
and get inaugurated. It was after this that
the Clerk commenced the business of
inauguration and someone nominated me
and the nomination was seconded by
another and the Clerk asked for a further
nomination but there was none. That was
how I became the Speaker of the Edo State
House of Assembly ditto for the Deputy
Speaker and other principal officers. So, we
rose that day, adjourned sitting and since
then we have been sitting.
Are you saying that the Edo State House
of Assembly has been sitting and
conducting parliamentary activities?
We have been sitting as a parliament. I
just drove out of office after the plenary
session. Lawmakers are going about their
committee work. We just invited the
Commissioner for Works to appear before
the House over a matter of public
importance.
Senator Rochas Okorocha cautioned his
colleagues against the swift takeover of
the Edo State Assembly. Why do you think
the National Assembly plans to take over
the Assembly which you preside?
I have said it before on several occasions
that we know who is beating the drum for
them in the National Assembly. They have
found themselves in position of a stooge to
make it look like they cannot think outside
the box, it’s unfortunate. It wasn’t only
Okorocha that spoke against the
undemocratic tendency of the Senate,
another lawmaker who is a lawyer from
Benue also asked them where the decision
they are taking on Edo Assembly is supported
in the constitution, asking them where the
time and venue of taking over a state
Assembly are spelled out.
The truth is that the Edo State Assembly
and my office as the speaker are not the real
targets of this crisis. In fact, I can’t find
myself anywhere in the whole scheme. The
plot is actually aimed at Governor Obaseki
and stopping him from getting a return
•Oshiomole
ticket as governor next year. Comrade
Oshiomhole is actually after Obaseki, the
state Assembly was only a smokescreen to
his plans. The idea now is to take over the
house, destabilize the state and possibly
impeach the governor. The Edo Peoples
Movement that originated this crisis have
boasted that they will ensure that the
governor does not come back for a second
tenure. But I said to people that that is not
the decision for them to make for our state.
We don’t know what Oshiomhole wants.
Oshiomhole is the one behind Edo Assembly
crisis and he is simply after Obaseki.
However, the door is open for the remaining
lawmaker-elect, they should come to the
Assembly, complete and regularize their
documentation and they will be sworn in.
What is the way out of the crisis?
I guess a political solution to the matter is
getting foreclosed by the day and the courts
may have to be the solution provider now.
The National Assembly should know that
the lawmakers that they are purportedly
fighting for are already in the court of law.
The senate cannot be seen to be going
against its own rule of interfering in any
matter that is already before the court.
They should not allow themselves to be
tossed around. We are a law-abiding people
and we are waiting for the verdict of the
court on this issue. The National Assembly
must take note that they are to act as agents
of peace and not merchants of crisis. Edo
State has always been peaceful and any
attempt for them to carry out this order
will certainly disrupt the peace that is
currently being enjoyed in the state. The
section of the constitution which
empowered National Assembly to take
over the functions of a State House of
Assembly is clearly and unambiguously
stated in sections 11(4) and 11(5) of the
Constitution. These conditions do not
apply here in Edo Assembly as the House
has been performing legislative
businesses in a peaceful atmosphere with
me presiding as the Speaker. Since
inauguration, the House has adopted the
business calendar, constituted statutory
committees, cleared commissioners and
passed several resolutions. This is why I
advised my colleagues who have refused to
be inaugurated to present themselves for
documentation and inauguration in other
for them to give quality representation to
the people who elected them.