A South-West youths group, Progressive Youths League, has criticised the Ekiti State House of Assembly for kowtowing to Governor Ayodele Fayose’s alleged scheme to institute a judicial panel of inquiry to probe former Governor Kayode Fayemi’s administration over a matter that is already before a court of competent jurisdiction.
The House of Assembly had on Thursday abandoned their adjournment rule to hurriedly call a plenary to debate a motion for the setting up of a judicial panel of inquiry to probe Fayemi’s administration.
The group, in a statement by its Zonal Coordinator, Barrister Adeoye Aribasoye, berated the assembly for trampling on the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, which, he said, barred the Assembly from debating on matters before courts of competent jurisdiction.
Aribasoye described the Assembly’s action as an abuse of judicial process allegedly aimed at foisting a fait accompli agenda on the judiciary.
He also took a swipe at the Assembly for its serial contempt of the court following its disobedience of the Federal High Court ordering it to swear in a member of the House representing Ado-Ekiti Constituency One, Toyin Obayemi, after winning a legal battle arising from the House of Assembly primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Aribasoye said: “When the court ordered the Speaker to swear in Obayemi last year, he bluntly disobeyed the court order, which generated heated public debate.
“To ensure the sustenance of their slap on the judiciary, they filed a notice of appeal at the Federal Appeal Court and since then, their argument is that they cannot act on a matter that is before the court.
“Now, Fayemi’s case is also before a court of competent jurisdiction, but the same members of Ekiti House of Assembly are acting upon it in flagrance contempt of court in deference to Fayose for a sinister agenda.”
Accusing the members of approbating and reprobating at the same time, Aribasoye noted that the House had already passed a verdict on the former governor, wondering whether there is really any need for a judicial inquiry on a matter they had already concluded.
Aribasoye also accused the House of “working to the answer” as revealed on social media reports of alleged conspiracy between the Assembly in cahoots with the governor to nail his predecessor at all costs.
The group pointed out the difference between Rivers State that raised a judicial panel to investigate former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, noting that while the matter was not in court when Governor Nyesom Wike set up the judicial panel, same could not be said of Ekiti State after Fayemi took the Assembly to court praying it to bar the Assembly from investigating him after the House’s public judgement declaring him guilty without investigation to allow him defend himself.
“What the lawmakers have done is nothing but legislative rascality and it is unfortunate that Fayose and members of the Assembly have chosen to rubbish all institutions of government to the embarrassment of Ekiti people and consternation of reasonable and decent people across the world,” Aribasoye said.