The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State on Friday rejected the position of some senior advocates from the state on the crisis in the state House of Assembly, accusing them of being biased.
State APC Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, in a statement titled, ‘Response by Ekiti APC to the concerns of Aare Afe Babalola and six others on the EKHA brouhaha’, accused the senior lawyers of not having intervened in similar issues in the state in the past.
The SANs – Aare Afe Babalola, Chief Wole Olanipekun, Dele Adesina, Olu Daramola, Femi Falana, Dayo Akinlaja and Gboyega Oyewole – had condemned the alleged impeachment of the former speaker, Gboyega Aribisogan, saying that “the action was morally and legally unjustified”.
The lawyers had in a statement titled, ‘Ekiti State House of Assembly impeachment saga: This constitutional and democratic rascality must stop henceforth’, insisted that Olubunmi Adelugba should not continue in office as Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly.
But Dipe said, “By and large, the neutrality of these wise men is questionable and we are questioning it. Having relied majorly on the version of just a party in a matter is described as the proverbial wicked act by elder(s) who judged based on one-sided narration.
“These elders have deliberately omitted reaching out to all other parties involved, which in this regard include the new Speaker, the parent political party, APC, and the notable party leaders they have alleged.
“It offends the rule of natural justice, equity and good conscience for them to have come to judgment on the statement of one party in what they referred to as a serious conflict capable of affecting the peace of the state they claimed to have loved so much”.