Osun lawmakers ask Aregbesola to respond to petition

Following a petition by a serving judge in Osun state,Justice Oloyede Folahanmi urging the state House of Assembly to investigate alleged financial mismanagement against governor Rauf Aregbesola, the House has written a letter to the governor asking him to respond to the petition.

Speaker of the Assembly,Najeem Salam confirmed yesterday that the assembly had received copy of the petition and had acted on it appropriately through a letter to enable governor Aregbesola defend the allegations levelled against him.

Justice Folahanmi had in the petition accused governor Aregbesola and his Deputy,Titi Laoye Tomori of alleged mismanagement of Osun state resources leading to inability to pay workers’ salaries in contravention of sections 128 and 129 of the 1999 constitution adding that the duo had no reason to stay in office.

Folahanmi in a 30-page petition urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission {EFCC}, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes,Amnesty International and Transparent International among others to investigate any other persons connected to be responsible alleged deliberate mismanagement of economy of Osun state.

But the speaker said the petition had got to the assembly and was expecting governor Aregbesola to file a reply to all the allegations against his administration.

In the letter attached to the petition sent to the governor, the parliament demanded comments on the content of the petition without delay.

He said, “the onus of proof lies on the petitioner who has expressed her readiness to defend her allegations before the parliamentarians, while Gov. Aregbesola’s response would also be awaited for the sake of fair hearing.

Salaam noted that the legislature has elected to give Justice Oloyede’s petition critical attention, because she is a serving judge In the state, and justice demands that her allegations be given a look, for she holds a prime position in the judiciary, an arm of government in the the state.

He appealed to the opposition and critics of the government to always channel their grievances peacefully,pointing out that the way and manner some people were blackmailing the state over the delayed salaries in the media did not augur well, for if the delayed salary matter is settled, the affliction of the false image would still be there.

He said that the state parliament was more than ready to interface between the people and the government at all time without compromising the independence of the legislature as guaranteed by the constitution of the federal republic.

However, he assured that the parliament under his watch would not be stampeded into on any issue before it, reiterating that thoroughness would be deployed into the facts presented without prejudice, ‘’for House of Assembly is a shrine of democracy, where democratic value and ethos must be upheld.

His words, “Osun is our state, she is our ancestral home and we all have the duty to protect her name and promote harmonious relationship and peaceful coexistence. Yes, we have challenges in our nation, and our state is not immuned from the hydra-headed challenges, but with the coordinated responses of the government at all levels, as it is ongoing, those challenges would soon be history”.

The Guardian learnt yesterday that the governor had received a letter by the assembly asking him to respond to Justice Folahanmi’s petition.

Several phone calls made to the Director,Bureau of Communications and Strategy,Office of the Governor,Semiu Okanlawon was not picked but a source within the All Progressives Congress {APC} said thre was no cause for alarm about the petition adding that the governor would respond to it appropriately

Meanwhile a human rights group,Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice {CHRSJ} yesterday called on Security agents in the country to beef up security around Justiice Folahanmi in view of security implication of her action.

The group noted that Justice Folahanmi needed more protection by the law enforcement agents in view of probable threat to her life.

The Executive chairman of the group,Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman in statement yesterday said the group was solidly behind the action of the judge stressing that her petition was part of efforts to find solution to alleged financial misappropriation by Osun state government.

The group has also said that the governor Aregbesola and his Deputy Titi Laoye Tomori lack moral and constitutional justification to remain in office.

Sulaiman also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order Governor Aregbesola to revert the state to its original name of Osun State instead of State of Osun by which it is called. currently
He also urged President Buhari to ensure proper investigation is done on how federal allocation to states was expended before the Federal Government considers a bail out for indebted and states who are owing workers’ salaries.

During a protest yesterday by the group, Conference of Nigeria Political Parties {CNPP},workers,retirees and Good Governance Support Group,the protesters said governor Aregbesola must not renege on his promise to pay salaries this month end.

The protesters carried placards bearing unprintable inscriptions and chanted anti government choruses.

They began the protest from the state assembly and later matched through major roads in Osogbo,the state capital.

Sulaiman while addressing the rally at the popular Old Garage where the protesters converged alleged his group had compiled some impeachable offences against the governor.

He said both Aregbesola and his deputy had violated some sections of the constitution and therefore do not deserve to continue in office.

Sulaiman stated that Aregbesola had plunged the state into financial crisis due to alleged reckless spending ‘without legislative provision, which presently lead the state not to be able to pay its workforce and retirees.