IMPEACHMENT: Lagos Assembly Threatening Governor Because He Is Not Aggressive – Human Rights Activist, Akinnola

A human Rights Activist, Richard Akinnola has said the ongoing moves by the Lagos State House of Assembly to impeach the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode is because the governor is not an aggressive person.

Mr Richard Akinnola, who stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s POLITICS TODAY, noted that such a move was tried in Rivers State when Rotimi Ameachi held sway as Chief Executive, and the then governor sealed up the assembly complex that threatened him with impeachment.

The Human Rights Activist said such a thing should not be happening in Lagos state because the state is supposed to set the pace in terms of governance.

On the resolution of impeachment impasse as well as whether the Lagos assembly is bent on removing governor Ambode, Mr Akinnola said:

“I believe that the house is bent on removing the governor, but it can still be averted, because it’s a simple thing between the speaker. The speaker can walk across the road to the government house and meet with the governor, and this issue resolved. Very simple. It won’t have gotten to this level if there are no other ulterior motives. You see when you talk about impeachments, perhaps maybe the demeanor of the governor is not that an aggressive person that can fight back. If you recall what happened in Port Harcourt when Ameachi was governor, he walked over from his government house to the house of assembly and he locked the place for one year. The same thing happened in Akwa Ibom State. We don’t need that in Lagos. Lagos is suppose to set the pace in terms of governance”

On the issue of budget which the state assembly is capitalizing upon as a reason for the impeachment move, Mr Akinnola noted “The issue of budget to me is just a mere issue but there are other underlining factors behind the whole movement. The financial year ended on the 31th of December. Today is 31th of January, and you are already making impeachment threats, it doesn’t add up. If the financial year ends you are told to get your tax returns ready?

“The issue of Ambode’s impeachment threat is purely political, because you denied somebody second term bid, no problem, the guy accepted. Now, two weeks to elections and barely five months to the end of the tenure, you are starting with impeachment threats, it doesn’t make any sense, because eventually, assuming that they proceed with this threat, all of them will get consumed in the process including members of the House. Yesterday and today I was listening to a phone in program on the Radio and 95 percent of those who called in were very angry over this development and were in support of the governor. Perhaps members of the house are not attuned to what peoples opinion on this move. Otherwise they will be a collateral damage.

“Last week I read in the dailies that the budget is already in the house sent in by the commissioner for budget, perhaps maybe they wanted him to come physically to come and present the budget, not through the commissioner. That is why I said this is more than just budget, because the budget is in the house, and it has not been denied by the house that the budget is not with the house of assembly. So why this issue of ultimate turns down if you don’t respond within seven days, and you are going to be served with impeachment notice, it doesn’t make any sense”

On the issue of the house having the rights to take on the governor on some certain infractions in the budget of 2018, the Human Rights Activist reacted this way:

“of course they do but you look if you notice that even during Fashola period similar things happened where the house had to call the commissioner for finance, that of budget to come and explain things in terms of the budget. These are mere administrative issues which can be easily sorted out within the house and the government house; but to now snowball into a major issue that threatens the peace of Lagos makes a different thing entirely.”

It would be recalled that the house, on Monday, 28th of January threatened to impeach the governor over alleged infractions in the 2018 budget and his failure to present that of 2019.

It, therefore, summoned the governor and relevant commissioners to appear before it in seven days to explain themselves.