By Kolade Larewaju
ABEOKUTA – THE Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Ogun State has lamented the continued closure of the State House of Assembly which entered its third month, saying that it was an act of obvious dictatorship of Governor Olugbenga Daniel to stifle representative governance.

The State House of Assembly sat last on Monday 6th of September when nine of the 26 members in the House sat very early in the morning and purportedly impeached the Speaker Mr. Tunji Egbetokun, his Deputy; Mr. Remmy Hazzan and suspended them along with 13 members of the House.

The ACN, speaking through its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Sola Lawal, yesterday observed that representative governance “has suffered an untold set back in the state as an unfortunate consequence of brazen drift of Governor Daniel into medieval tactics of muzzling opposition.

“For 90 days, pseudo governance has operated through dictatorship of one man who sacked an assembly of the people’s representatives, thereby throwing the masses into avoidable mourning of democracy”.

The party condemned what it called the shameless action of Governor Daniel who it said had been supporting the undemocratic removal of the Speaker, Mr. Tunji Egbetokun and the suspension of 15 lawmakers by the group of nine members of the house.

“It goes without saying that in the last three months that the House of Assembly has been under lock and key, there has been no government in the state officially since the federal Constitution under which any administration derives its authority makes clear provision and roles for the legislature which does not exist in Ogun state now.

“Therefore any pretention to wield authority by the Daniel administration remains illegal, including any money spent from the peoples till”.

The party pointed out that barely two months into the closure of the Assembly, a visiting President Goodluck Jonathan opted to ignore the dreadful consequences of the situation on democracy, rule of law and justice adding “this act of subterfuge by the occupant of the most powerful office in the land can only strain the nations budding democracy rather than deepening it.

“The federal House of Representatives which earlier threatened to wield the big stick in the matter of the self -induced imbroglio in the state Assembly, has suddenly developed cold feet while it flexes
its muscle in comparatively less significant circumstances of dissolution of local governments in Ekiti and Edo states.

“It is appalling that the House of Representatives which the Constitution empowers to oversee the operations in state Houses of Assembly has adopted the ostrich character; see no evil, hear no evil”.