The chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in Nigeria and Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has condemned the recent siege on the Edo State House of Assembly by men suspected to be loyal to governor of the State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
In a statement he personally signed on behalf of the Conference of Speakers, Obasa described the removal of the roofs of the hallowed Assembly as an injury to Nigeria’s democracy and must be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians.
The statement read: “It is sheer recklessness and a proof of dictatorship for a governor who is supposed to be the head of the executive arm of government to decide to take charge of another arm through questionable means like it happened in Edo.
“There were reports linking the removal of the roof and the offloading of gravel at the complex to purported plans by the government to renovate the Assembly but we think this is an afterthought.
“Why is the government just realising the need renovate the complex at the twilight of the administration?
“What happens to the building if the governor does not return? What happens if the next administration does not take that direction?”
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The statement also questioned the role played by the Commissioner of Police in the state in the entire drama.
Obasa accused the police commissioner of allowing himself to be used as a tool to perpetrate an attack on democracy in the way the drama panned out at the Assembly complex in the state.
While issuing a strong warning to Obaseki and those participating in the electoral process in the state to desist from doing anything that would affect the smooth running of the Edo House of Assembly, Obasa on behalf of the Speakers reminded Obaseki that the removal of the Assembly roof does not stop the lawmakers from sitting as the constitution of the country does not limit plenaries to the hallowed chamber alone.
