Chinelo Obogo
Lagos State House of Assembly has said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s action will determine whether he will be impeached or not.
Reacting to reports that there were plans to impeach Ambode for financial misappropriation, Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, during yesterday’s plenary, said the reports were false.
Obasa said he became worried after receiving telephone calls and enquiries from prominent members of the public over the alleged impeachment moves against Ambode and felt he had a responsibility to set the record straight.
He alleged that the impeachment reports emanated from Solidarity Group of Nigeria, a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, led by Mr. Fuad Oki, who had insinuated that the lawmakers threatened to impeach Ambode, if he failed to open the state treasury for them.
“We are not embarking on any impeachment process against the governor now. Should there be an impeachment, it would be from the governor.
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“Even at that, impeachment is constitutional, many speakers, Senate presidents, presidents and others have been impeached all over the world. So, nobody can threaten us if it happens because we are representatives of the people.
“We don’t need the wailers to guide us in performing our duties. It is not out of place for us to do our job,” he said.
The speaker said if there would be an impeachment, it would be done in the open, but, that there was nothing like that for now, adding that the people would know if any impeachment against the governor would happen.
He, however, promised that the Assembly is working with the governor to ensure peace and development in the state.
The speculations that an impeachment was imminent heightened last Thursday, after the Assembly ordered the 20 local governments and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs) to direct the operators of Private Sector Participation (PSP) involved in refuse clearing in the state to go back to work.
The House also disowned Visionscape, a refuse disposal company contracted by Ambode to take over refuse clearing job from the PSP operators over one year ago.
The Assembly also asked the state government to return all the money paid to Visionscape and that the heaps of refuse all over the state was an indication that the organisation lacked the capacity to do the job.