By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

Nobody doubts the loyalty of Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji to the political empire of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, himself unarguably the Southwest’s most powerful political figure today. But then no one also doubts the loyalty of Dr. Muniz Banire, the erstwhile Commissioner of Environment in the State and currently the National Legal Adviser of Tinubu’s political platform, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.

Likewise, any doubt as to the political fidelity of Governor Babatunde Fashola to Asiwaju as Tinubu is almost universally hailed by his political followers, may have been erased earlier this year when he rejected offers from Asiwaju’s critics and stuck to the ACN platform in seeking a second term as Governor of Lagos State.

However, among the three aficionados of the Southwest political grandmaster is believed to be a no love lost relationship centered mainly over the political leadership of the state – post Fashola.

The quizzing of Speaker Ikuforiji by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC last weekend over his alleged expenditure of N7 billion may have brought the long buried political intrigues among the gladiators around Asiwaju to the fore. Different accounts have pointed accusing fingers of the authorship of the petition to Ikuforiji’s political enemies. Principally suspected are followers of Banire and Fashola whose principals it is believed have axes to grind with Ikuforiji.

However, as at press time there has been no confirmation of the authorship of the petition.

*Ikuforiji: In the eye of the storm

Only few months ago on the eve of the inauguration of the Lagos State House of Assembly Ikuforiji and Banire were known to have clashed over the election of a principal officer of the House. Ikuforiji was reported to have backed majority of the House of Assembly members in the election of Taiwo Kolawole as Deputy Speaker of the House despite the alleged agreement by party elders that Mrs. Funmilayo Tejuosho should be given the position. Tejuosho is allegedly a close political ally of Banire.

Mrs. Tejuosho was a former deputy Speaker of the House and was impeached by the House during an unscheduled sitting of the House in 2009. The Banire-Tejousho camp it is alleged fault Ikuforiji who as Speaker they claim could have stopped the impeachment but went along with the conspirators to shove Mrs. Tejuosho out of office.

On the eve of the inauguration of the House last June stakeholders in the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN were said to have met in the Bourdillion Road residence of Tinubu where canvassers of Tejuosho were said to have prevailed on the party elders to return her to office as deputy Speaker of the new House.

Ikuforiji was reportedly mandated to convey the decision to the House. However, as the House sat to elect the new  set of officers, members were said to have discarded the resolution of the elders and elected of Kolawole.

The action reportedly grieved Banire who followed up his hurt with a petition to the national leadership of the party wherein he accused Ikuforiji of misconduct among many other charges.
In his petition, Banire deposed thus:

“As you will recall, the Party leadership handed down this unequivocal directive to Mr. Ikuforiji for onward transmission to the members of the House for implementation.

Rather than ensuring compliance with the directive, Mr. Ikuforiji resorted to maneuvering and manipulation of the members of the House against complying with the directive as it concerns Hon. Tejuoso’s return as the Deputy Speaker.

Beyond doubt, Mr. Ikuforiji’s conduct in this regard constitutes wanton affront on the Party’s leadership. In furtherance of this unjustifiable affront, during the briefing of the members of the House, Mr. Ikuforiji instructed the members of the House not to allow the Party Leadership to hijack the House.”

“Without mincing words, he proclaimed his objection to this alleged hijack by the Party Leadership and instigated the members of the House to disobey the directive. It is pertinent to state that Mr. Ikuforiji deployed the selection of House Committees and sole control of the House funds as a weapon to control the members into disobeying the Party Leadership’s directives.”

“As a concerned member and the National Legal Adviser of our great party, it is my position that the party must hold its ground by ensuring member’s compliance with party directives and subjecting those involved in the breach to disciplinary action.

Otherwise, the recent efforts by way of retreats to enthrone party discipline will amount to a colossal waste of time and resources. Anything short of this will send a wrong signal to the members generally. It is of utmost importance to deter party members from going past party directives. A house whose members do not respect constituted authority is doomed! God forbid.”

Banire like Ikufuroiji, is reportedly interested in succeeding Fashola at the end of the latter’s second term. It was as such not easy for some to point at the Banire camp as the source of the petition to the EFCC against Ikufuroiji.

Some equally point at supporters of Governor Fashola as being behind Ikuforiji’s present troubles. Such claims are supposedly based on the alleged hostility of the Speaker towards the Governor in the period before Fashola was given the ACN’s gubernatorial ticket.

The Speaker was reported to have told the Governor not to be taken away by the commendations of performance. There were insinuations at that time that the Speaker was indeed preparing himself to take Fashola’s position on the party’s gubernatorial ticket in expectation of the party’s disapproval of the Governor.

Ikufouriji’s problems may, however, not be from any of the alleged two camps.

Yesterday all the other 39 members of the House of Assembly addressed a press conference during which they countered the allegations raised against the Speaker. The presence of Mrs. Tejuosho at the press conference may have doused suspicion against her or the Banire camp for the authorship of the petition.

Political observers also think it unlikely that elements in the Fashola camp could have gone the length of raising a petition against the Speaker.

Indeed the group that filed the petition for now remains faceless and so is the source of Mr. Speaker’s problems.

But for the leader of the party in the state and in the country, the facelessness of the trouble against his man should be a disturbing noise of discord in his once harmonious political family.