Questions raised on Nigeria’s democratic system, as Osun Speaker suspends LG chairman

The Caretaker Chairman of Ede South Local Government of Osun State, Lukman Afolabi has been suspended by the Osun State House of Assembly over what the state lawmakers called misconduct.

He was alleged to have insulted the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun during a meeting held at the Assembly.

Afolabi is the chairman of one of the two LGAs within Ede town, where the governor, Ademola Adeleke, hails from.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Olamide Tiamiyu, which announced the suspension, said Afolabi should hand over to his deputy immediately.

The statement further read: “The Osun State House of Assembly has suspended the Caretaker Chairman of Ede South Main Council, Mr Lukman Afolabi, for misconduct.

“The suspended chairman is expected to hand over to his deputy immediately.”

Though details of what transpired was not revealed in the statement, a source at the Assembly said Afolabi had insulted the Speaker, during a meeting held within the Assembly complex on Wednesday.

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According to the source, Afolabi and other council chairmen were said to have attended the meeting, where issues of disagreement within the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) Osun State chapter, were discussed.

“At the meeting, Afolabi insulted a member of the House of Assembly, a development which irritated the Speaker, Egbedun. He left the meeting but members of ALGON later went to the Speaker’s office where another meeting was held.

“Again, at the Speaker’s office, Afolabi repeatedly uttered words considered insulting to the Speaker. The House subsequently met and directed that he should be suspended,” the source said.

The move by the speaker has however raised questions about the country’s democratic system of governance and how public officials use and abuse powers of their offices.

Many ask if a speaker of a state assembly has the powers to suspend a local government chairman, without recuse to the state governor or the council’s lawmakers, in this case, counselors.

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