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From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Discussions and debates on the Edo State House of Assembly which was inaugurated initially with 10 members in controversial circumstances in the night of June 17, 2019, have in the past few weeks remained in the front burner.
Recall that two other elected members who presented themselves for inauguration to bring the number to 12, later abstained from the sittings of the House and joined the 12 other lawmakers-elect who are yet to be inaugurated to bring the number of lawmakers whose Constituencies are unrepresented in the Assembly to 14.
Thereafter, the crisis took a new dimension as courts were flooded with lawsuits arising from the inauguration debacle. Even the intervention of the National Assembly to take over the affairs of the state’s legislature pending the resolution of the issues, as provided in 1999 Constitution (as amended), was frustrated by a court injunction which restrained the National Assembly from doing so.
Current situation of the Assembly
Almost two years down the line, the issue of the Edo State House of Assembly slipped into latent mode as the courts appear to have adjourned the lawsuits ‘sine die’ and the political class and stakeholders in Edo kept mute over the goings on while only 10 lawmakers are warehoused in the State Government House in Benin City to legislate for the state.
This was the stage until late last year when the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who lost to their All Progressives Congress (APC) counterparts in the House of Assembly election, came up with a demand requesting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to either conduct by-election or swear them in to fill the vacant positions in the Assembly. INEC is, however, yet to respond, obviously because the matters are in court.
On January 31 this year, a group, ‘Strategic Advocacy Outreach for Edo State House of Assembly 14’ added it’s voice for restoration of normalcy to the legislative arm of government in the state.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, the convener of the group, Mr. John Mayaki, in his speech titled “Democracy in Detention in Edo State, referred to the provision of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which says that a State House of Assembly shall have a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 40 members and noted that the Edo issue was a constitutional anathema that must not be allowed to fester beyond tolerance.
Besides, he noted that the state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has tactically shifted the blame in the State Assembly logjam from himself to the Judiciary which seemingly has effectively joined the fray to arrest the mandate freely and willingly given the 14 lawmakers of the Assembly.
Mayaki, therefore, called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), the Judicial Service Commission, Attorney General and Minister of Justice and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), to investigate and bring those culpable in the arrest of democracy and wanton abuse of the judicial process in the case involving Edo State House of Assembly members to book.
Similarly, the G-14 Advocacy Group has called on the Federal Government to intervene and resolve the impasse. Spokesman of the group, Sunny Ifijen, drew the attention of the AGF and the National Judicial Council (NJC) to the issues surrounding the delay in the dispensation of justice in the matter.
The group pointed out that the matter which has been pending in court for over two years, has denied no fewer than 1.6 million people of representation at the State House of Assembly following the exclusion of the 14 elected members from representing their Constituuencies.
Accusing the Executive arm of Government of deliberately delaying the matter in court to serve its purpose, the group described the purported House of Assembly of 10 members as “illegal and an affront” to the Constitution which says that “No House of Assembly shall be less than 24 or more than 40”.
How the inauguration conspiracy was hatched
Notwithstanding the cacophony of groups and individuals voicing their feelings on the state of things with the Legislative arm of Government in the state, the Executive arm appears unruffled, giving what gave rise to the scuttling of a functional House of Assembly in the first place.
It was reliably gathered that it was to stave off alleged plot, whether imagined or real, to impeach Governor Obaseki, in the early days of his administration, that the state chief executive and his inner members allegedly plotted to disable the House of Assembly by inaugurating only lawmakers loyal to the governor to the exclusion of others deemed to harbour impeachment motives. This arose following the festering feud within the APC family then.
The thinking, it was further learnt, was that hit by hunger and deprivation, the non-inaugurated lawmakers would come begging to be inaugurated on the terms of the governor but this did not happen because the needs of the lawmakers-elect were met by their political leaders and others sympathetic to their cause.
Stalemate, resulting in more legal actions
Now, there is a stalemate and because of ego and hardening of positions, the two sides of the divide are finding it difficult to reconcile in the interest of the people who voted for them.
Consequently, the yet-to-be inaugurated lawmakers had approached the Code of Conduct Court in Abuja to look into their case, whereupon the court invited the Speaker and the other members to appear before it three times but they reportedly gave excuse to buy time.
They then filed an application at the Federal High Court, Benin, seeking injunction to restrain the Code of Conduct from entertaining the matter but the court however declined the application on Thursday Febrary 10, 2022 and adjourned the matter till April.
Commenting on the stalemate in the resolution of the Assembly matter, spokesman of the 14 lawmakers- elect, Dr. Washington Osifo, accused the executive arm of Government of using the courts to stall the case.
“A few bad men are the ones giving the Judiciary a noble institution, a bad name. We are also further relying on the court of public opinion and the press (Fourth Estate of the Realm). This is a mis-normal that should not be allowed to continue”, he added.
When asked the possibility of out-of -court settlement of the matter, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Marcus Onobun, said “Never say never”, stressing “the right thing needs to be done.”
He added: “Rather than moving from one place to another, stakeholders should meet eye ball to eye ball to resolve the issue”.
He recalled that the 14 lawmakers-elect called the House of Assembly as presently constituted as “illegal” and went to inaugurate themselves, querying, “have they now recognised the Assembly as legal? What about their own self-inaugurated Assembly? These are issues that need to be addressed.
“The issue of running from pillar to post will not help, time is running out”, he stressed.
Out-of-court settlement option
Many stakeholders and commentators are of the view that the best approach to resolve the impasse is for political leaders in the state to engage and seek out-of-court settlement of the cases in court in order to have the Legislative arm of government restored fully for good governance.
This option does not however enjoy the support of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. The state Chairman of the party, Tony Aziegbemi, insists that instead of political solution, the court should expedite hearing of the pending cases and give judgment, promising that his party would abide by whatever decision the court takes on the matter.
“You will recall that when the House of Assembly election was held, all the seats were won by the APC. Then the governor was in APC. When the governor issued a Proclamation for the inauguration of the Assembly, for some reasons, 14 lawmakers-elect didn’t show up.
“Now, the governor is in the PDP and after the 14 lawmakers failed to sit for the mandatory 181 days provided by the Constitution, the former Speaker declared their seats vacant and asked INEC to conduct by-election to fill their positions.
“They, the 14 lawmakers-elect went to court. I do not know what political solution people are talking about. My take is that the court should expedite hearing of the case, whatever decision, we would abide”, Aziegbemi said.
But his counterpart and state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Col. David Imuse, while pointing out that the state has no House of Assembly, accused Governor Obaseki of allegedly using the state Judiciary to frustrate the case in court because he wants to run his government without the Legislative arm.
“As a party, we know very well we have no House of Assembly in Edo. What they are parading as House of Assembly are Obaseki’s Clerks who sit and read newspapers in Government House.
“All efforts to seek judicial resolution of the matter have been frustrated by Obaseki. The case has been transferred to the 8th Judge. Even though Obaseki runs to court for flimsy excuses, he has emasculated the Judiciary from concluding the matter.
“The Judiciary in Edo is of little help. He wants to run his government without the Legislature and we wish him good luck”, Imuse said.
At press time, efforts to speak with the state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr. Adaze Ewanta and the Special Adviser to Governor Obaseki on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, to react to the allegation that the governor was using the Judiciary to frustrate the pending case in court was unsuccessful, as the two officials would not respond to calls nor to text and Whatsap messages sent to their mobile phones.
Indeed, time is running out for the tenure of the current state House of Assembly and the earlier stakeholders across party lines come together to resolve the problem, the better to save the Legislative arm of Government to work for the overall interest of Edo people.
This can only be possible if the combatants tone down on their rigid and selfish positions and embrace genuine dialogue.
