Encomium
‘It’s a rumour by few to siphon money from Abuja’
Contrary to the impeachment tale against the Governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, he has debunked it, labelling the rumour the handiwork of the few from the opposing party who planned to extort money from their boss at Abuja.
In an exclusive chat with ENCOMIUM Weekly on Saturday, July 25, 2014, His Excellency, through his Senior Special Assistant on Political Matters, Hon. Samuel Kolawole Ajadi said there is no iota of truth in the reports.
“The impeachment saga is nothing but mere rumour. I am in a better position to tell you what’s going on. None of our members from the House of Assembly has decamped or fraternised with the opposition party. They are using that impeachment tale to siphon money from Abuja. Our governor is performing and he has really transformed Oyo into a mega city. There is no issue amongst us. Why will anybody want to impeach a performing governor, all the issues raised in the reports were nonexistent. We have neither embezzled nor borrowed money to execute our projects. Sincerely, the issue of impeachment is nothing but rumour. It’s all an agenda of few from the opposition to defraud their party at Abuja.”
In Oyo state, the fear of the possible impeachment of Governor Abiola Ajimobi heightened last week with alleged series of secret political moves by members of the state House of Assembly.
It was reported that at least, 24 House members had been meeting secretly and that more members were being wooed to join the group. It was said that 10 legislators from the APC had joined the 14 other legislators from the PDP and AP, and that they were holding secret meetings on the modalities to impeach either the governor or the Speaker, Monsurat Sumonu.
The House has 32 members with the All Progressives Congress having 18, Peoples Democratic Party nine; while the Accord Party, which had seven, now has five members.
The source said, “The House has been calm because the Speaker is dancing to the governor’s tune. Once she is removed, the new Speaker can go ahead to implement the impeachment plan. But the problem is that the group has yet to agree on who will be the next Speaker. For the PDP to have that power, it must improve on its present figure in the house. I am aware that it is being worked on with a move to woo AP legislators and possibly some APC legislators in the House.”
The minority leader of the house, Rafiu Adekunle, however, said that some members of the ruling APC were part of the meeting, and that for safety reasons, he would not give their names.
“For political reasons, no member of APC can boldly come out and affirm my claim publicly. Let me tell you emphatically, immediately after plenary, four other members signified their readiness to associate with the project.”
The Chairman of APC in the state, Mr. Akin Oke, said that he did not envisage an impeachment move in the state, confirming that the party’s members in the House were made to pledge their support to the governor.
He said, “This era of impeachment is not good for our democracy. If a governor’s achievement is not satisfactory after three years in government, why not wait till the next election to remove him through the electorate. Instead of sponsoring legislators to remove governors, the electorate should be allowed to decide that.
“In Oyo State or anywhere in the South-West, it is not possible to remove our governors. The 18 legislators in Oyo have come out to deny meeting legislators from the PDP and AP. It shows that such a move will not be welcome in Oyo. Ajimobi and the legislators have always enjoyed a good relationship, so why should there be fear over his impeachment?” asked the chairman.
But the PDP chairman in the state, Yinka Taiwo, on Friday, July 24, 2014, claimed that there were six APC lawmakers holding talks with the PDP on how to move to the party.
“The minority leader, who is a PDP member in the House is handling the matter. I am aware that six APC lawmakers in the House are talking with him. They said they were not happy with the APC and are eager to join the PDP. We are considering their proposal,” he said.
