The fear of the possible impeachment of Governor Abiola Ajimobi heightened last week with a series of secret political moves by members of the state House of Assembly.
Source told correspondents in confidence that, at least, 24 House members had been meeting secretly and that more members were being wooed to join the group. He said 10 legislators from the APC had joined the 14 other legislators from the PDP and AP and that they were holding secret meetings on the modalities to impeach either the governor or the speaker, Monsurat Sumonu.
The House has 32 members with the All Progressives Congress having 18 members; Peoples Democratic Party nine; while the Accord Party, which had seven, now has five members.
The source said, “The House has been calm because the speaker is dancing to the governor’s tune. Once she is removed, the new Speaker can go ahead to implement the impeachment plan. But the problem is that the group has yet to agree on who will be the next Speaker. For the PDP to have that power, it must improve on its present figure in the house. I am aware that it is being worked on with a move to woo AP legislators and possibly some APC legislators in the house,” he said.
Signs early in the week that impeachment plans were being hatched were denied by the majority leader of the House, Oyeniyi Akande. Speaking on behalf of the 18 APC members during an emergency press conference, Akande said a report that APC members were part of a meeting held with the PDP and Accord last weekend could not stand the test of time.
He said, “I am using this period to debunk that statement that APC members were part of that meeting; they were not part of that meeting at all, none of our members was in that meeting. I am saying it categorically that we are solidly behind our governor, Ajimobi, beyond 2015. We have the positive opinion that he is going to win the second term election.”
The minority leader in the house, Rafiu Adekunle, however said that some members of the ruling APC were part of the meeting, and that for safety reasons, he would not give their names.
“For political reasons, no member of APC can boldly come out and affirm my claim publicly. Let me tell you emphatically, immediately after plenary, four other members signified their readiness to associate with the project.”
On Tuesday, a release signed by all APC members where they denied holding any meeting with a group was issued. This was a confirmation of the source’s claim which also backed the fact that there was an impeachment fear in the state.
The Chairman of APC in the state, Mr. Akin Oke, told correspondent that he did not envisage an impeachment move in the state, confirming that the party’s members in the house were made to pledge their support to the governor.
He said, “This era of impeachment is not good for our democracy. If a governor’s achievement is not satisfactory after three years in government, why not wait till the next election to remove him through the electorate? Instead of sponsoring legislators to remove governors, the electorate should be allowed to decide that.
“In Oyo State or anywhere in the South-West, it is not possible to remove our governors. The 18 legislators in Oyo have come out to deny meeting legislators from the PDP and AP. It shows that such a move will not be welcome in Oyo. Ajimobi and the legislators have always enjoyed a good relationship so why should there be fear over his impeachment?” asked the chairman.
But the PDP chairman in the state, Yinka Taiwo, told correspondent on Friday that there were six APC lawmakers holding talks with the PDP on how to move to the party.
“The minority leader who is a PDP member in the house is handling the matter. I am aware that six APC lawmakers in the house are talking with him. They said they were not happy with the APC and are eager to join the PDP. We are considering their proposal,” he said.
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