The House of Representatives may intervene in the crisis rocking the Ekiti State House of Assembly where only seven members of the Assembly impeached the speaker, Adewale Omirin and his deputy, Tunji Orisalade, in a controversial circumstance last week.
Findings show that the Lower House would be relying on Section 11 (4) of the 1999 Constitution which empowers it to take over the functions of any State Assembly incapacitated by a prevailing situation in the state.
The Ekiti Assembly was thrown into crisis since last week Thursday when minority members of the House, apparently backed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led state government, impeached both speaker and his deputy, who are All Progressives Congress (APC) members and supported by the majority of members of the House.
The state Assembly is now factionalized with 19 members of the APC under the leadership of the embattled speaker, Omirin on one hand and another set of seven members led by a new ‘speaker,’ Dele Olugbemi on the other hand.
Although the House of Representatives is on recess till December 3, 2014, if the Ekiti situation persists till then, the Lower House, given past similar interventions in other places, may have no choice than to take over the duties of the state Assembly.
Specifically, Section 11 (4) of the 1999 states: “At any time when any House of Assembly of a state is unable to perform its functions by reason of the situation prevailing in the state, the National Assembly may make such laws for the peace, order and good government of that state with respect to matters on which a House of Assembly may make laws as may appear to the National Assembly to be necessary or expedient until such time as the House of Assembly is able to resume its functions; and any such laws enacted by the National Assembly pursuant to this section shall have effect as if they were laws enacted by the House of Assembly of the state.”
Meanwhile, speakers of 35 states’ Houses of Assembly in Abuja at the weekend have disowned Olugbemi as the new speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, saying they only recognize Omirin as the authentic speaker. 