The new Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Mr. Kabiru Adjoto, who was allegedly injured during the dramatic removal of the former Speaker, Justin Okonoboh, tells ALEXANDER OKERE why there was a change in the House leadership
The impeached Speaker has described his removal as illegal. How would you react to that?
I do not want us to dwell much on what happened yesterday (last Monday). Rather, I would like to talk about the way forward. And by God’s grace, the former speaker is my friend and a brother. The (former) deputy speaker is my friend and a sister, so is the (former) majority leader. So, we are talking. It (impeachment) was like an in-house fight; the tongue and the teeth do fight from time to time and how they resolve issues between them, only God knows. But at the end of the day, it is going to be an amicable resolution.
As a family, we will forge ahead peacefully and we are already doing that. It (impeachment) is a normal thing all over the world. Occasionally, there is a change in leadership and after the change, the parliament moves on.
But the former speaker said that those who removed him were under suspension. Do you agree with that?
It is not true. What transpired was that there was the need for change and that change came. And by God’s grace, we are all working as a family now. The aim is to move Edo State forward and that we shall achieve.
Do you think that those who signed the notice of impeachment were over-ambitious as Okonoboh claimed?
At the plenary on Tuesday, we hugged and greeted one another. Like I said, the fight between the teeth and the tongue is always resolved. Not even the eyes or the nose or ears, all situated around the head region would know how it is resolved. But it would be resolved. I do not know what you mean by over-ambitious. An average human being is ambitious, what is important is you being able to achieve it (ambition), following all reasonable process. So, I do not think ‘over-ambition’ is a matter to discuss, as far as the issue in the House of Assembly is concerned.
Is it true that you and your colleagues, that initiated the impeachment are against the peace and development of the state?
It is not true.
Some have condemned Monday’s fracas in the House of Assembly, describing it as a show of shame. How would you respond to that?
As human beings, we all have our perceptions and ways of reasoning, different from one human being to the other. They cannot be the same. Recently in South Africa, President Jacob Zuma was seated right inside the South African parliament and one opposition parliamentarian was pointing a finger to a level that the speaker asked that the parliamentarian should be moved out of the parliament. At the end of the day, there was the need for a vote of confidence and there was a vote of confidence passed on Jacob Zuma.
Then recently, in another country, some people engaged in fisticuffs in the parliament. It happens all over the world. But what happens in parliament ends in parliament; it does not go out. As soon as that is done, everybody becomes friends (again). My brother a (lawmaker, Magnus Igbas, who was involved in the fracas during the impeachment) and I are friends. That is why we call the House a hallowed chamber. So, everything that we do there ends there.
Some say there were instances when the former speaker’s wife meddled in the House affairs?
In Africa, whatever is said to be sacred, we respect it. When they said that water (river) is sacred, people go there with respect. Sacred fish is not killed. When people say that a python is sacred, we respect it. So, whatever we do in the House ends there. Do not look at what happened yesterday (last Monday) as extraordinary at all. It ends there and we are moving ahead as a parliament.
Like I said, the former speaker is my friend; I go to his house and we eat together. The former deputy speaker is my friend; when she cooks, I will eat. So, it is a normal thing. But that does not mean that we should not disagree to agree. Disagreeing to agree is part of democracy. That is the sweetest ingredient of democracy.
You accused your predecessor of allegedly awarding contracts to himself. Do you have any proof?
Like I said, what happened yesterday (last Monday) ended on that day. We (lawmakers) are all on good terms now. They (suspended members) are my brothers and we will move forward in the interest of Edo State.
How true is it that his removal was connected to his alleged failure to carry other members along on financial allowances and other entitlements?
Like I said what happened yesterday (last Monday) ended on that day. We are moving ahead.
How did the meeting with the governor end last Monday?
The meeting was very wonderful and peaceful.
So, what is the solution to the current crisis in the House?
The solution is that Edo State must move forward.
Will you reach out to the former speaker and other suspended members for their inputs in the House?
We are already working with them. One of them (Igbas) is here.
(Igbas cuts in): I am already here (with the speaker and other members). I was the one in the white attire, who was running up and down during the impeachment.
Going by the exchange of blows, did you sustain any injury?
Igbas: Do I look like someone who was injured? No.
So, what happened afterward?
Igbas: Like he (speaker) said, what happened in the chamber ended there. Immediately, we walked out of the chamber, we were already hugging (one another). So, it is over.
But the former speaker, his deputy, and the majority leader were absent during the plenary on Tuesday. Is that not a sign that they are still aggrieved?
Igbas: Well, you would expect such anywhere in the world. I was not there too. We were all at the office. But we needed the new arrangement to settle (down). There is no big deal. We are not enemies. We are here in the interest of the state and that is utmost to my heart — to see how Edo State can be developed and how the House of Assembly can be taken to the next level. The way the speaker handled the plenary today (on Tuesday) was interesting. That is what we want.
The House announced your suspension after the impeachment and set up an investigative committee. Is the suspension no longer effective?
Igbas: No. The committee, as we speak, has been dissolved. Mr. Speaker and the POC (Principal Officers Council) will meet and reconstitute the committee. That is how it goes.
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