Jonathan ordered Ogun Assembly closed – G15 lawmaker

Posted by admin Goodluck Jonathan (2010-present), Headlines, Ogun, Presidency, State News Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

A member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Mr Johnson Olu Fatoki yesterday revealed that President Goodluck Jonathan ordered the closure of the Assembly.

Fatoki, who is a member of the G15 spoke against the backdrop of the refusal of the group to challenge what he described as unprecedented illegalities committed by the immediate past governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.
Speaking during a radio programme monitored in Abeokuta yesterday, the lawmaker expressed disgust that despite several promises by President Jonathan to re-open the House, it was not so until the current administration assumed power.

His words: “We met with him (President) in Abuja and he was the one that asked us to go and that the House should not re-open but assured us that he would come back to us, but regrettably, he never came back to us till the new administration of Governor, Ibikunle Amosun influenced our coming back.’’
Reacting to the inability of the House to have met the constitutional provisions on its sitting, Fatoki said: “ While we were not allowed to sit, we had been at our constituencies doing our constituency responsibilities.’’
He adds: “The sitting on the floor of the House is just one of the functions of the House, the major function is the constituency function.

On the allegation that the House did not meet the required number of sitting, Fatoki said there were constraints and the constraints were as a result of the order given by the President himself that the place be closed.
“When the Assembly was closed, there was little we could do as lawmakers, bearing in mind that the closure was at the instance of Mr. President.

“Even at the time we were supposed to come back, Daniel was using the resources of the state government to ensure that the sitting of the Assembly did not hold, except the illegal one that he was promoting.’’
On why the G15 did not challenge the illegalities performed by former governor Gbenga Daniel, Fatoki said: “We knew at the abinitio that the House of Assembly will outlive the administration of Gbenga Daniel.

“The allowances of members of the G15 were not paid for two years as well as arrears of salaries for 11 months. If we had gone to court to challenge, that, the Daniel that we knew would have used that information against us and people would have seen us as self-centred. It would have amounted to promoting and giving cheap publicity to illegalities if we had gone to court.’’

-Sunwp_posts