~Blame crisis on Oshiomhole
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – elected members of Edo State House of Assembly suspended in the wake of the leadership crisis rocking the legislature have dismissed their suspension as a nullity and vowed to attend Monday’s plenary.
They described a court order restraining them from entering the assembly and legislative quarters as “curious” and “unworkable”.
The lawmakers at a press conference in Benin said the court orders bore the telltale prints of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, and promised to tackle “executive rascality.”
“We said the order that they cannot enter the legislative quarters is strange because as lawmakers we pay monthly rent to live in the quarters. There is no order that will say that you cannot stay in an apartment you pay N27, 000 monthly,” Minority Leader Emmanuel Okoduwa fumed.
“The second relief which says the purported suspended members should not disturb the business of the House is simply asking someone, who was elected to represent his people not to do so. As a matter of fact, legislative business can never be complete without such person”, he added, stressing, “so, the orders are not enforceable if they were granted in the first place.”
The lawmakers were flanked by members of the state working committee of PDP.
PDP chairman Chief Dan Orbih warned that such orders had placed Edo State on a political precipice.
But for Governor Oshiomhole’s meddlesomeness, regretted the PDP chairman, the crisis rocking the assembly would have been resolved especially after last Wednesday’s meeting of all the 24 members.
According to Orbih, Oshiomhole ordered the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) lawmakers to renege on all the agreements reached at the Wednesday meeting.
He described as questionable the visit of the APC lawmakers on Friday well after plenary, saying the visit fuelled speculation that the purpose was to conceal weapons to be used against the PDP members on Monday.
Declared Orbih, “There is an attempt to bring Edo State to its kneel. We are aware that, as usual, the APC thugs would be coming out on Monday to fight the PDP lawmakers on the orders of Governor Adams Oshiomhole.
“This order is based on the so-called court order of Justice Eboreime. If there is crisis in Edo State, we would call on the National Judicial Council to investigate the circumstances under which Justice Eboreime issued her order because she is inviting crisis to Edo State.
“The judiciary should not be used by the APC government against elected members of the House and the Edo people are concerned about what is going on in the state. Our member went to court to seek protection and they got it.
“You cannot suddenly turn around to get what a competent court ordered you not to do. When they came out that they had suspended our members, there was no reference to any existing rule of the House,” Orbih declared.