Aribisogan's impeachment as Speaker final, Ekiti Assembly replies Afe Babalola, others

The Ekiti State House of Assembly says the impeachment of Gboyega Aribisogan, who spent only six days as Speaker, is irreversible.

This is contained in a counter statement issued on Thursday night by Adeoye Aribasoye, the new chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, on behalf of the lawmakers.

Aribasoye said that contrary to impression created by the seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria, the removal of Aribisogan had come to stay, and that the new Speaker, Mrs Bunmi Adelugba, shall remain in office.

The seven eminent Ekiti lawyers, who are of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) rank and led by Aare Afe Babalola, had called for the reinstatement of Aribisogan on the ground that his impeachment was "ill-conceived, illegal, null, and void."

Others Chief Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Dele Adesina (SAN), Olu Daramola (SAN), Femi Falana (SAN), Dayo Akinlaja (SAN), andGboyega Oyewole (SAN) issued a statement on Wednesday night condemning as unwarranted Aribisogan's purported impeachment and calling for his immediate reinstatement.

The senior lawyers also said that Mrs. Bunmi Adelugba, who was elected as Speaker after Aribisogan's impeachment, should stop presenting herself as the new Speaker, saying her purported election was irregular.

However, in a swift reaction, Aribasoye said: "The attention of the Ekiti State House of Assembly has been drawn to a letter circulating on the social media written by a combination of Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

"The letter is about the concern of the legal luminaries led by Aare Afe Babalola about the recent change of leadership in the Ekiti State House of Assembly, which led to the impeachment of Rt. Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan, who was replaced with Rt. Hon. Olubunmi Adelugba.

"We recognize the rights of the legal luminaries as stakeholders in Ekiti State, and we respect their opinions and advice, but that is where it ends."

"We wish to let the reading public know that members of Ekiti State House of Assembly feel a sense of injustice by the one sided opinion and biased intervention of the legal luminaries, who are also elderstatemen.

"The principle of justice all over the world is that all sides to a conflict must be heard, and it is only then that justice can be seen to have been done."

According to him, it is unfortunate that our elderstatemen did not hear from the side of the new Speaker and the remaining 16 members, who impeached the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan and elected Rt. Hon. Olubunmi Adelugba.

"For the avoidance of doubt, Rt. Hon. Olubunmi Adelugba remains the validly elected Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, and she enjoys the support of an overwhelming majority of the honorable members, party leadership, and the government of Ekiti State.

"Therefore, the advice of the legal luminaries that Rt. Hon. Olubunmi Adelugba, who was duly elected by 17 members, should stop parading herself as the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, is unwarranted, and we believe this is based on wrong information by the impeached Speaker,"

He said that the House has neither breached any section of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria nor its own Standing Rules concerning the impeachment of Aribisogan or the election of Adelugba.

Aribasoye further explained that on Monday, Aribisogan was duly served an impeachment notice and was thereafter impeached by two thirds of the whole House.

"We, however, wish to remind our legal luminaries that when a serious infraction of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was committed during the PDP administration of Gov. Ayodele Fayose, where seven members impeached the then Speaker, Adewale Omirin, we didn't see a convergence of legal luminaries condemning the action.

"This same Aribisogan was equally suspended by the Fifth Assembly during the tenure of Gov. Fayose, but there was no whimper from our legal luminaries."

"We wish to reinstate that peace has returned to the Ekiti State House of Assembly since the inordinately ambitious Speaker was impeached and suspended alongside his cohorts.

"Mrs. Adelugba has presided over parliaments and plenaries with the majority of members present."

"She has announced the appointment of new principal officers, and she has constituted all committees of the House," he said.