Ondo Assembly crisis: Court nullifies suspension of another lawmaker

The Ondo State High Court has nullified the indefinite suspension of a member of the State House of Assembly, Tomide Akinribido, by the house’s leadership.

Mr Akinribido represents Ondo West constituency at the assembly.

The judge, Ademola Bola, ruled that the Ondo State House of Assembly acted arbitrarily by exceeding its power and could only suspend for one day’s plenary sitting.

The court noted that the assembly could regulate the actions of its members and mete out disciplinary actions on members but the suspension of any member cannot be more than one legislative day or a plenary sitting.

It held that Akinribido’s indefinite suspension was ultra-vires of the powers of the assembly and hence null and void.

The judge, however, noted that the lawmaker violated house rules through the WhatsApp altercation and the house could discipline him for it.

The court said in spite of the powers to sanction, the suspension could not be more than one legislative day and that the house of assembly lacked the power to suspend a member indefinitely.

The house had, in the build-up to the Ondo governorship election, suspended four lawmakers including Mr Akinribido and the deputy Speaker, Iroju Ogundeji, Favour Tomomowo, and Wale Williams.

The house leadership had accused them of misconduct and acts capable of bringing the assembly to disreputeM.

Akinribido was specifically sanctioned for his tirade against the leadership on social media.

However, the entire suspension brouhaha is closely linked to their refusal to consent to the impeachment of the deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi, who was jeering to contest the governorship election against his principal after dumping the All Progressives Congress under which he was elected deputy governor in 2916.

The court in August gave a judgement quashing the suspension of Messrs Ogundeji, Williams and Towomowo.

Three of them are members of the APC.

Mr Bola, who also presided over the court, had awarded N5million each as compensation for the lawmakers for the treatment meted to them by the house.

Mr Akinribido is the only member of the House on the platform of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

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