The speaker of Edo State House of Assembly Mr. Frank Okiye has chided the National Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, over his comment on the June 17 election of the House leadership.
Okiye said the party lacked powers to adjudicate on the constitutional function of the legislators.
The speaker cautioned that the APC spokesman should be guided on the independence of the different arms of government which according to him, is one of the actual ideals of APC.
Issa-Onilu had labeled the Assembly inauguration and election of its leadership as ‘charade and an ‘illegality.’
Nine out of the 24-members elect were sworn-in by the House clerk around 10.pm on Monday.
However, in a statement issued Friday in Benin City by the speaker’s spokesman Aigbefo Jnr. Iretiose challenged Issa-Onilu to seek redress in court ‘If they are not clear on the issue’.
Okiye quoted the party’s spokesman as saying in a newspaper publication, “It is not every issue that the national leadership responds to.
‘That is why we have structure; you can relate to the APC in the state. I can’t respond to that; we have structure. It has not gotten to what the media was trying to make it look like.”
Okiye therefore queried why in about 48 hours, Issa-Onilu’s stance dramatically changed.
According to him, “the sudden U-turn leaves us wondering if it was the same Mallam Issa-Onilu with his faculties intact speaking or if it is somebody else with vested interests that is speaking through him.”
“We are certain that we carried out an inauguration and election of principal officers to the 7th Assembly according to all the provision of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended.
“The issue of inauguration and election of principal officers is now behind us and we are now poised to carry out our constitutional responsibility of lawmaking,” Okiye said.
