The speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa has cleared the air on the rumoured impeachment of the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode by the lawmakers.
Speaking in Lagos on Monday, Obasa said “Akinwunmi Ambode has not committed any impeachable offence.”
However, he said: “Impeachment is constitutional and has its process. We are not embarking on that yet. Embarking on impeachment is not an offence, if there is the need to do so. No one can stop us. Impeachment of the governor is not on the card, at least for now.”
Meanwhile, a Lagos-based civil rights movement, Save Lagos Group (SLG) last Friday threatened to picket the State House of Assembly if it goes ahead with its alleged plans to impeach Ambode.
It also warned lawmakers against being the tool to be used by some selfish individuals to impeach the governor saying it (group) had prepared to legally, constitutionally and democratically resist any attempt by the legislators to oust the governor.
“They wanted Ambode out of office prematurely because they didn’t want him to be entitled to the pension emolument of the exalted office,” SLG said in a statement.
Apparently reacting to the threat, Obasa said: “We don’t need wailers to advise us on how to go about our duties. Nobody can threaten us if it happens because we are representatives of the people. For now, we are still working in one accord to move Lagos forward. This is to clear the rumours.
Obasa also said if there was going to be an impeachment “it will be done in the open” but he repeated that “there is nothing like that for now.”
He assured that lawmakers “are working with the governor to ensure peace and development in the state.”
It would be recalled that the impeachment rumours heightened on Thursday, October 18 after the lawmakers moved against the governor by directing the private sector partnership (PSP) operators in all the 20 local governments and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs) of the state to resume refuse collection and disposal with immediate effect.
The PSP operators were disengaged by Ambode following the introduction of a new environmental initiative, through the Visionscape Sanitation Solution Limited.
There was a discontent of residents of the state over the challenged capacity of Visionscape to handle the refuse business is now being explored by the party elite to push the impeachment.