By Boluwaji Obahopo, Lokoja

The war in  Kogi State House of Assembly before it was  hijacked by  external forces was self-inflicted. Though the executive arms of government, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the deputy governorship candidate of the APC in last  November governorship election in the state, James Faleke, and the Presidency have now been dragged into the crisis, the legislators ignited the  fire before it spread  and now seems uncontrollable.

The state assembly, since 1999 when the country returned  to democratic governance, has not enjoyed  peace. Aside the Clarence Olafemi  speakership which  was not  impeached; no term has gone without two or three Speakers emerging to lead the House and mostly  in a dramatic manner that is at variance with democratic ethos.

GENESIS

In December last year, a group within the House, led by Godwin Osiyi (Ogori/Mangogo, PDP), organised a palace ‘coup’ to oust the Speaker, Momoh Jimoh Lawal, citing lack of internal democracy and weak leadership. Political observers, however, alleged that the move, which came at  the twilight of  former Gov. Idris  Wada administration  was to force the Speaker to attract some favour from the  outgoing governor. The move did not receive executive backing, it flopped.

Meanwhile, the group  continued to parade  itself as a factional caucus and, since then, peace  has eluded the House.

BELLO’S INVOLVEMENT

Though the Assembly crisis was inherited, Governor Yahaya Bello’s saw it as an opportunity to achieve his political aim.

With the legitimacy crisis hanging over his head, and possible fear that the tribunal  may  order for re-run election, Bello  moved  to find a soft landing for himself. To achieve this, the governor ignored the Kogi West where Faleke’s hails  from for the deputy governor slot to pick his deputy, Simon Achuba, from Kogi  East. With the governor from the Central, deputy from the East, there was no doubt that the Speakership should  have moved to the West; in the spirit of  equity. That  development  gave a natural ultimatum to the occupier of the seat; Momoh Jimoh Lawal, who is not only from the Central  but  also from the same local government and same home town with Bello  to step down.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the Speaker, at a meeting with the governor, agreed to step down so that the West will produce the Speaker. The West is divided into two zones: the Okun axis with five LGAs and the Lokoja/Koto axis with two LGAs. The zone endorsed Prince Kolawole Matthew from the Okun axis but the governor kicked against it. Kola ‘sin’  was said to be because he hails  from the same federal constituency with Faleke who is challenging Bello at the tribunal. Bello’s camp therefore ruled out the Okuns  from occupying the seat  for the fear that if  the tribunal orders  for re run-election, the Speaker will become the  acting governor and may use the ethnic connection to favour his kinsman  The governor thereafter anointed Umar Imam (Lokoja 1, APC) as the number three citizen of the state.

Though  there are other two members from the Lokoja/Koto axis who are PDP membeers ( Lokoja 11 and Kogi,) the governor did not want that either; his desire was for his party man to be the Speaker and, by extension,  acting governor at the ‘appropriate’ time.

PDP CONNECTION

While the Speaker agreed with his kinsman, the governor, to accept the executive zoning arrangement, the decision did not go down well with the PDP which  holds the majority in the House (the PDP  has 14 members in the House, APC 11).

Meanwhile, the PDP national leadership summoned its 14  members to Abuja, chastised the Speaker for such accord with Bello,begged the Osiyi camp which had commenced impeachment move against the Speaker  to relent and asked them to maintain the status quo.

The PDP calculation was also hinged on re run-election and wanted the acting governor to come from  its fold should the tribunal rule in such direction. Lawal  accepted the PDP offer and renounced his earlier  stand with the governor.

That was  the beginning of the unending war.

The governor, in trying to make his plan work, called  on some of  his APC  members in the House to impeach’ Lawal. Only five lawmakers were involved in the so-called impeachment in a parliament of 20 members.

The G5 members have since been looking for every means to legitimise their illegitimacy. They first  attracted three members who moved  to their camp from the Lawal’s group. The caucus also attracted  three of those who won their bye-election; raising their flank to 10.

FALEKE’S ANGLE

The G15, before they lost two members to the G5, approached the House of Representatives  for solution to the Kogi parliament impasse. The House of Reps raised a committee  to investigate the crisis; the committee recommended that the assembly be sealed  and the National Assembly to take over its function.

Faleke’s involvement in the crisis is an open secret. Though his (Faleke) campaign organisation,  through his Director, Media and Publicity, Duro Meseko, has continued to denied having hand in the crisis; he  cannot in political logic wriggled  himself out  from the saga, being a House of Representatives member.

The Reps committee decision gave credence to it. Within 10 days that  the G15 lodged  its  complaint, the Reps  deliberated, raised a committee; the committee came on a ‘fact finding’ mission to Kogi, submitted  its report and the report was endorsed by the House.

The Bello’s camp believes that Faleke is the political drummer beating the drum which the House of Representatives is dancing to.

PRESIDENCY ANGLE

When the G15, who are now 13, alleged that President Muhammed Buhari  was supporting the governor to continue to perpetrate act of illegality, not many political analysts believed  the allegation. But recent events seem  to have justified the  claim. First the governor visited the Presidency, held a closed door meeting with the SGF, Babachir, and proclaimed to the media that there was no crisis in the state Assembly. The next day, the Assembly complex, earlier sealed by the police, was unsealed  before public outcry made the police to  lock the Assembly again.

Secondly, the Attorney General, just like his hasty proclamation  on the replacement of the late Abubakar Audu as the  APC candidate for the last year guber race which favoured Bello,  also advised the Inspector General of Police to ignore the National Assembly order to seal  the state Assembly complex and it was reopened.

Presently, the G5, led by Umar Imam, is  having the upper hand in the crisis  despite its  illegitimate impeachment. Its members  are enjoying  patronage from the executive; using the Assembly complex; enjoying security escort. The  13  other legislators have been denied their salary but did not have a common ground to press for their demands.

The reason the National Assembly summoned the IG and  the Attorney General to appear before it was  the ‘suspension’ of the embattled Speaker, Lawal, and nine of his supporters by the factional Speaker, Umar Imam. This was done to enable them pass the budget. Sensing that they needed 2/3 of 23 which is 16 to pass the budget and, they being just 10 which fall short of the constitutional requirement, Imam group suspended 10 of Lawal’s camp; reducing the assembly figure to 13 ‘legitimate’ members. And their 10 is now a good number to carry out that constitutional responsibility.