Daily Independent (Lagos)
Gbenga Faturoti
13 June 2011
analysis
Osogbo — The fourth assembly in Osun State started in crisis but ended on a good note on May 31, 2011. It was inaugurated on June 04, 2007, with 11 members elected on the platform of Action Congress (AC) now Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), while the remaining 15 of the 26 state assemblymen were elected on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The peace that prevailed in the assembly towards the end of the tenure is easily associated with the posture of the new administration in the state, headed by Rauf Aregbesola, who prevailed on members of his party that cleared all the 26 legislative seats in the assembly to avoid vendetta against the former PDP -government of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who governed the state between May 2003 and November 26, 2010.
At a joint session of the last fourth assembly members and incoming members of the fifth assembly, the lawmakers interacted with one another and harped on the imperatives of sustaining the prevailing peace in order to move the state forward.
The session witnessed by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, his deputy, Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, former Minister of Defence, Dr. Olu Agunloye, first and second speakers in the state, Hon. Wale Afolabi and Mojeed Alabi respectively, Secretary to Osun State Government (SSG), Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, Chief of Staff to Governor, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, the Head of Service, Mr. Segun Akinwusi among others ended up with launch and group photograph at the frontage of the parliament.
What was witnessed during the session was a radical departure from the trend in the fourth assembly in the state. Then, the lawmakers were cautious in relating with one another. Equally, majority of issues debated and resolved were done along party divide.
Some members of the assembly especially those elected on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) passed through traumatic experiences in the hands of their fellow PDP legislators but were able to withstand the trauma, intimidations and harassments.
On the day of inauguration of the fourth assembly, four Action Congress (AC) members namely Timothy Owoeye representing Ilesa-East State Constituency, Folarin Fafowora representing Ilesa-West State Constituency, Adegboye Akintunde representing Osogbo State Constituency and Laide Ajibola representing Olorunda State Constituency were arrested at the entrance of the State House of Assembly by security operatives allegedly in connection with violence that trailed the announcement of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the winner of the April 14, 2007, governorship election in the state.
Friends, relations and well wishers who had come to celebrate with the lawmakers were disappointed when the security operatives laid ambush on them and hauled them into a waiting police van to an unknown destination.
Efforts by their colleagues to halt the inauguration in protest of their arrest did not achieve results.
During the violence in some towns in the state, property worth over N200million was destroyed by youths who protested the declaration of Oyinlola as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Houses, shops, shopping complex, cars and other valuable goods were set ablaze by the protesters.
Those arrested were later taken to Abuja for interrogation and were released on bail. Even after they were allowed to take their seats in the assembly after being sworn in, they were linked with the June 4, 2007 bomb explosion, which rocked the Ministry of Water Resources in the State Secretariat in which one person died and another injured.
They were hauled into detention for several weeks along with some party chieftains, including Sunday Laoye, the elder brother to the Deputy Governor, Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, Alhaji Lai Oyeduntan, Sunday Akere, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, then State Chairman of ACN now Secretary to the State Government, Prince Adegboyega Famodun, State Secretary of ACN and Gbenga Fayemiwo, the media aide to Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Linking the ACN lawmakers with violence and bomb explosion, some political watchers said, was a ploy by the then ruling PDP government to silence the ACN so as to dominate the assembly.
At a point, the election petition tribunal nullified elections of some ACN members in the assembly and ordered re-run election in the affected state constituencies. There was rerun election into Osogbo, Egbedore and Ejigbo state constituencies and PDP candidates were declared winners of those seats, thereby further reducing the number of seats being occupied by the ACN. The rerun election exercise reduced the number of seats occupied by the ACN to 8 while PDP had 18 members.
Another setback the ACN suffered under Oyinlola’s administration was the cross carpeting of lawmaker, representing Olorunda State Constituency, Hon. Laide Ajibola.
Ajibola had earlier been arrested and detained with his colleagues on the platform of ACN before he crossed carpet. Though Ajibola claimed that the reason for his action was personal, it was learnt that he did so when he thought all hopes of the ACN to regain its mandate was very slim.
Another issue that almost tore the assembly apart was the constituency project fund introduced by the Oyinlola administration in which a sum of N10million was paid into the private account of each of the 26 assemblymen in the state for the execution of constituency project in their area.
When the idea was introduced, the ACN kicked against the style and directed its members in the assembly to distance themselves from such arrangement on the ground that it negates the principle of separation of power, rule of law and could serve as inducing the lawmakers to compromising their constitutional duties and shirking in their responsibilities to the electorate who elected them into the position.
The ACN’s directive however did not go down well with all members of the party as some of them complied with the directive while some did partially. Those that complied refunded the money to the government, while others claimed that part of the money had already been spent before the party’s directive reached them.
Another funny scenario which took place during the fourth legislative session was when the state lawmakers were to have input into the proposed 1999 constitution amendment, the outgoing Speaker, Adejare Bello, threw caution into the wind when he openly attacked the personality of Rauf Aregbesola on the floor of the assembly, a development that irked ACN members.
While the discussion on the subject matter was on, a member demanded from the whole house what would be the fate of Oyinlola, who by then had spent three years in office while the petition against his victory was yet to be determined?
Apparently making references to the petition filed by Aregbesola against the victory of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Adejare Bello got angry and poured invectives on Aregbesola.
At this point, Ajibola demanded from him, why he so much disliked Aregbesola when it came to the issues of election in the state. Bello promptly replied that Aregbesola was causing lot of distractions in the state.
According to him, “as a Muslim brother and as a politician who has the right to vie for elective positions, I have nothing personal against Aregbesola.
“For any politician with total faith in God, the desperation to occupy an office should be with some decorum. The long legal tussle and the judgements should have sent a signal to Aregbesola to be forward looking, re-strategising and stop causing unnecessary distractions.
“If not because of the desperation of a single person, local government candidates and parliamentarians of AC stock who lost out as a result of re-runs would have had opportunity to fairly fight for their seats,” he said.
Bello further said that it would be difficult if not impossible for Aregbesola to become the Governor of Osun now or in the future, stressing that he had failed to respect the decision of God in his affairs.
Recalling the 2003 gubernatorial elections, Bello said Chief Bisi Akande even as the governor then toed the line of honour by not struggling with destiny in his failed second term bid.
The decision of Oyinlola’s administration to seek N18.3billion financial assistance from financial institution at the twilight of his tenure also caused lot of distractions in the fourth assembly.
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