The Senate ad-hoc committee investigating the ongoing crisis at the Edo State House of Assembly has revealed it will meet with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole.
The chairman of the committee and Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Aliyu Abdullahi, made this known to journalists on Thursday. This was after a closed-door meeting with about 12 lawmakers from the Edo assembly said to be loyalists of Mr Oshiomhole.
Among the Edo lawmakers was Seidu Oshiomhole, younger brother to the APC chairman.
Briefing journalists, Mr Abdullahi noted that the committee plans to stick to the provisions of the constitution.
According to him, the constitution is not unmindful of the fact that scenarios like this will occur, hence the provision of some clauses in the constitution for lawmakers to deal with these issues if and when they occur.
Mr Abdullahi, who described the committee as a fact-finding ad-hoc committee, said they are trying to use facts to know what exactly happened.
“We have just concluded the second leg of our interaction with all the actors of this crisis and because we have not synthesise what we have heard, we have to sit down again and look at those facts.
“I will not be able to make any further comment because that will be pre-empting what will come out of our work as a committee. Since we have not deliberated, I will want to seek your indulgence to not push me into making any comment on that.
“I want to assure you that the Senate is concerned about this development. We are in a democracy and like we all know, democracy is a game of number. The Senate is determined to ensure that we do justice to this matter to save democracy. We don’t want to start looking for who is right or wrong. All we want to do is bring out what should be,” he said.
When asked if the ad-hoc committee will be meeting with Mr Oshiomhole for further investigation, the lawmaker simply said “we’ll be meeting with him.”
He, however, failed to disclose when or where the meeting will take place.
There has been crisis in the Edo State House of Assembly over the ‘inauguration’ and the ‘election’ of a new Speaker.
Although all the 24 members of the state assembly belong to the APC, they have however, been divided into two factions with one side allegedly loyal to Mr Oshiomhole and the other, to the state governor, Godwin Obaseki.
But nine of them, allegedly prompted by the state governor, hurriedly met at night to ‘inaugurate’ the House and ‘elect’ a speaker – a development which now buttresses the existence of a rift between Messrs Oshiomhole and Obaseki.
The other lawmakers-elect were excluded in order to prevent Mr Oshiomhole’s loyalists from taking control of the legislature.
Members of the House of Representatives had on Wednesday, given a one-week ultimatum to the the Edo State Governor to issue a fresh proclamation for the Edo State House of Assembly.
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