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Based on the recommendation of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Governor Yahaya Bello has terminated the appointment of Mr. Emmanuel Folorunsho Olorunfemi as Commissioner, Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC).
Recall that the Assembly earlier in August asked the State Government to sack Folorunsho over alleged political partisanship and financial misconduct.
The resolution of the house followed the adoption of the report by the House Committee on Public Petition, Human Rights, Judiciary and Legal Matters on a petition forwarded against the accused by one Mr. Michael Shaiye.
The Speaker, Prince Matthew Kolawole while ruling on the matter commended the Committee for giving a fair hearing to the parties involved and directed the Clerk to forward the House resolution to the State Government for appropriate action.
The decision of the House did not come without a backlash, as the Speaker was accused of masterminding the travails of Folorunsho.
One Mr Oloruntoba Tobi John had in an article published online, accused the Speaker of picking up fights with individuals seen as stumbling blocks to his rumoured aspiration to represent Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency at the National Assembly.
John, had linked the aspiration to the State Assembly’s recommendation for the removal of Folorunsho.
In a Press Statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Femi Olugbemi, the Speaker said he has not declared to run despite calls from his constituents.
“It is only God that knows who will live to see tomorrow. The current mandate in the House of Assembly to represent the good people of Kabba/Bunu State Constituency which is still valid till 2023, is all that matters for now,” he said.
Reacting to the removal of the SIEC member, Kolawole said it was mischievous to be blamed for the for the travails of Olorunfemi whom he said flout the law.
“The law is unambiguous on what the members of a State Independent Electoral Commission should and should not do. If however for whatever reason, Mr. Funsho Olorunfemi decides to brazenly flout the law despite the oath of office he swore to, the consequences should not be put on any other person.
“He was invited based on a petition which the petitioner confronted him with during the Committee hearing. All the allegations against him were proved in his presence and neither did he deny any of the issues raised against him.
“Oloruntoba Tobi John, if not fictitious, has forgotten that the same State Assembly he claimed to be a rubber stamp Assembly, passed the law that established the same SIEC and also screened the same man to function before he went off track, Tobi is urged to look for something productive for himself and leave the Speaker out of their self inflicted problems.
“If Oloruntoba Tobi John could describe the joint committees reports of a duly established State House of Assembly that is saddle with the responsibility to carry out oversight functions to monitor the activities of the other arms of governments as ignoble, it means he is suffering from acute myopia and his frustrations can be understood in view of the huge embarrassment his embattled godfather has brought upon himself,” he said.
Governor Yahaya Bello on Wednesday terminated his appointment, and has replaced him with Mr. George Funsho Ojo.
The new SIEC Commissioner is from Kabba/Bunu area of the state.
