PDP Tasks Osun Assembly On Petition By Serving Judge Against
IN what appears to be a rare spirit of democracy and candour, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State yesterday commended the state House of Assembly for taking courage to invite the state governor, Rauf Aregbesola to defend himself in a petition by a serving judge in the state, Justice Oloyede Olamide Folahanmi.
The party however urged the lawmakers to be diligent in their investigation of alleged financial recklessness raised by the petitioner against governor Aregbesola and his Deputy, Titi Laoye Tomori.
Justice Folahanmi had in her petition accused the governor of mismanagement of the state’s resources, which according to her had affected the fortunes of the state and allegedly caused the state government’s inability to pay workers’ salaries and retirees’ entitlements for about seven months.
The PDP in a statement by its Director of Media and Strategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi, while lauding the lawmakers for their decision to ask Aregbesola to respond to the petition, however cautioned the assembly against attempt to sweep the truth under the carpet.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Najeem Salam had on Thursday assured citizens in the state of the readiness of the parliament to rise up to its responsibilities on the matter. The party said history and posterity would not forgive the lawmakers if they allowed the administration of Aregbesola ‘’to scuttle the impeachment process on the altar of political exigency and partisan conspiracy’’.
His continued: “We are aware of the tremendous pressure being brought upon the lawmakers by the insensitive leaders and chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) within and outside the state, but the lawmakers owe posterity and their generations unborn this moment of history, to offer the state the last straw before it would collapse irretrievably” .
While hailing the lawmakers for showing signs they could put political affiliations aside to be true statesmen, the statement noted that every step of the impeachment process and procedure would be monitored by ‘’the traumatized people of the state, until the governor is sent back to where he came from’’.
The PDP alleged it had received information from very credible persons within and outside government circles of a deal by Aregbesola’s administration already has with the APC-controlled Assembly to sweep under the carpet, the issues of financial recklessness and others raised by Justice Folahanmi against the governor.
“We want to commend the lawmakers for commencing the process of impeaching Governor Aregbesola in order to save the state. For us as a political party, our concern and involvement is beyond playing the traditional role of opposition party. It is about the people of Osun State. It is about able-bodied men and women who are supposedly gainfully employed but are now refugees in their own land, living on handouts from compassionate religious and corporate bodies.
“It is about the present and future of the state. It is about generations unborn and questions that would be asked us if we don’t act collectively now. Even members of Governor Aregbesola’s party know that he spoke from his heart when he said he was clueless about how to rescue the state from imminent doom. The only honourable way out is for him to be shown the way out. The lawmakers would be writing their names in gold, irrespective of party affiliations if they take the lead in rescuing their constituents from penury and impending economic catastrophe.
“We have it on good authority that a deal has been reached between Governor Aregbesola and the leadership of the Assembly to kill the impeachment process by referring his response to Justice Folahanmi’s petition to a kangaroo committee of the Assembly that would rule that the governor has no case to answer on the weighty allegations raised by the petitioner. This is completely unacceptable to the traumatized people of the state and such shenanigan will be fiercely resisted,” the party stated.
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1 Comments
The word ‘shenanigan’ has suddenly found a new allure for many Nigerian journalists, for some strange reason. In any case, the romance with shenanigan aside, this PDP storyline is a most condemnable piece to read. Why would PDP, the cesspool for everything corruption, be singing tired tunes of impeachment at a petition that has not even received as much as a response from the accused governor? It makes absolutely no sense. Attempts by the PDP to claim that anything short of the State Assembly impeaching the Osun State Governor for a charge that has not been investigated or defended is repugnant, to say the least. The Osun State judge and petitioner should show how members of the public can expect him to stay above political fray in adjudicating cases before him. Is PDP looking to have a second hearing that it could not secure at the Tribunal?
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