The crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly is far from being over – not with the seeming decision of the Governor of the State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to officially recognize Malachi Coker as the authentic Speaker.
Coker was appointed as acting speaker by a faction of the House following a crisis that saw the Speaker, Mrs. Jumoke Akindele, purportedly removed by some lawmakers.
The governor recognised Coker as the speaker in his speech during the inauguration of the Secretary to the State Government on Friday.
Lawmakers loyal to Akindele described Akeredolu’s action as an illegality.
The factional speaker was said to have been seated in front of the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office (venue of the inauguration) before Akeredolu arrived.
During his speech, Akeredolu recognised and greeted eminent personalities in the hall, including Coker, whom he allegedly addressed as “Mr. Speaker.”
It was gathered the development was corrected by the governor as the factional speaker was not recognised as the speaker during a photo session that took place after the programme.
However, the alleged action of the governor did not go down well with Akindele’s faction, as it condemned the recognition of Coker as the speaker during the ceremony.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Siji Akindiose, Akindele’s faction said Coker was never a speaker of the House.
“The House of Assembly, under the law, remains under the leadership of the Speaker, Jumoke Akindele, and other principal officers of the House. The purported tactical recognition of Malachi Coker as speaker by the protocol of the government is a setback for the ongoing reconciliation efforts of stakeholders in which Mr. Governor is a mediator.
“In line with our resolve to bring to an end to the crisis in the Assembly, we have participated actively in the reconciliation process which led to the withdrawal of a case in court in deference to the intervention of the governor. The intervention of the governor had also led to the stoppage of the plot by some members to hold an illegal sitting in the House,” the statement said.
It said further, “It is therefore strange to us to see that the protocol of the government would recognise a wrong person as speaker of the House while reconciliation is ongoing.”
Akindiose noted that despite the setback the Akindele faction would remain committed to the peace process.
Credit: punchng.com
