Edo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Anselm Ojezua, has said the National Assembly does not have any reason to intervene in the crisis rocking the state House of Assembly.
Ojezua, who said this in a statement on Thursday, said the intervention of the National Assembly in the state parliament crisis was an impediment to the peaceful resolution of the crisis.
The party chairman said since the matter had been taken to the court, the National Assembly ought to have waited for it to be determined there.
He, however, said the people of the state would protect their independence if there was the need to do so, stressing that the state was a federating unit of the country and should not be treated as a colony of the Federal Government.
Ojezua said, “We await the court’s decision but as a party, we are also taking steps to seek reconciliation of our members in the House of Assembly. If you recall, when the House of Assembly was inaugurated there were nine members but today they are 12.
“There is a prospect that the number will increase. I think what has actually been an impediment to a peaceful political resolution is the intervention of the National Assembly. If their intention is to come and help us in Edo, I think they have somewhat compounded our problem.”
He argued that the assembly had been duly inaugurated because the nine members formed a quorum.
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He added, “You see, we don’t even believe that the National Assembly has any business in this matter. We don’t even believe that it is right for them to take steps. But you know that we are obliged to be polite to them when they come calling for very obvious reasons. So, we made all the facts known because if we had rebuffs them the tendency would have been to believe that we have something to hide.
“They have come and they have all the facts. What are the facts? That the seventh House of Assembly was inaugurated, that a leadership is in place and that they are actually functioning and that the matter is in court. With all that knowledge, what we expect them to report and to recommend is that in the light of all these facts there should be political solutions and also watch the judicial pronouncement.
“They didn’t do that rather they could not even wait for the National Assembly process to be completed before they went to town and therefore they may have justified speculations in town arising from an audio where one of the members-elect was boasting that the matter has been resolved and that the Senate President and Speaker of the House have been told what to do. And three days after, they did which the boy said.
“That has compounded our problem rather than helping to resolve it. That is why I said when their energy is dissipated we will continue our reconciliation. We were on course before this. This thing you are seeing will be resolved. This is not the first time we are having issues in Edo State House of Assembly. If the need arises, we will do anything we have to do to protect our independence in the state.” [PUNCH]
