Only female lawmaker emerges Oyo speaker

Posted by admin Headlines, Oyo, State News Friday, June 10th, 2011

A female lawmaker, Mrs. Monsurat Sunmoni, on Friday emerged the speaker of the seventh Oyo State House of Assembly.

Sunmoni, the only female member of the 32-member assembly, is representing Oyo West/Oyo East State Constituency under the umbrella of the Action Congress of Nigeria.

A member representing Egbeda State Constituency under the umbrella of the Accord Party, Mr. Ibrahim Bolomope, nominated Sunmoni for the exalted position, while the nomination was seconded by another member representing Atiba Constituency, Mr. Ganiyu Adekunle. Her nomination was unopposed.

When it was clear that there was no other nomination, the clerk of the assembly, Mr. Samuel Adebolu, declared nomination closed, paving the way for Sunmoni to take over from the immediate past speaker, Mr. Moroof Atilola.

Mr. David Olaniyan, who is representing Ibadan North I State Constituency under the umbrella of the AP emerged the deputy speaker.

Before the election, Adebolu had read the proclamation on behalf of the state governor.

In her acceptance speech, Sunmoni expressed the readiness of the assembly under her leadership to collaborate with the executive arm of the government to ensure that the dividends of democracy were delivered to the people.

She sought the support of her colleagues and that of the people of the state for a hitch-free tenure.

“We are accountable to the people, who will judge us at the end of our tenure. We must therefore work hard to justify the confidence they have reposed in us all,” the speaker told her colleagues.

The inauguration was witnessed by the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; his deputy, Chief Moses Alake-Adeyemo; the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Waheed Olajide; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Adeolu Akande; the state Head of Service, Alhaji Tajudeen Aremu; state chairman of ACN, Chief Akin Oke; and the secretary, Mr. Wasiu Olatubosun.

Meanwhile, our correspondent was brutalised on Friday by a policeman, Mr. Goddy Sylvester, while he was attempting to enter the premises of the assembly.

Sylvester, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, is attached to the Parliament Secretariat of the Nigeria Police Force located within the assembly premises.

The encounter occurred while journalists were entering the assembly premises through the gate beside the police post.

Sylvester, who had earlier openly upbraided the journalists for what he called their late coming, in an attempt to stop some other people from entering, sprayed the liquid content in his tear gas canister directly into our correspondent’s eyes.

A journalist with a Lagos-based radio station identified as Tade, also got a fair share of the police brutality.

The incident happened in the presence of a member of staff of the assembly, who was at the gate to identify and usher journalists into the premises.

When it became clear that our correspondent could not see again, his colleagues from THISDAY and Nigeria Compass, Messrs. Tunde Sanni and Demola Babalola, guided him to a seat directly in front of the police post.

They were there for close to 20 minutes before he regained his sight after a petty trader in the premises used his handkerchief to apply kerosene to his face.

Despite the outcry the incident attracted, Sylvester left the scene pretending as if nothing happened.

Our correspondent managed to cover the inauguration of the assembly before consulting an ophthalmologist for medical attention.

-Punchwp_posts