Ondo Assembly crisis: Coker faction lists terms for reconciliation

FOLLOWING an overture put across to Honourable Malachi Coker led faction in the Ondo State House of Assembly, the 13 members on his side have listed terms and conditions for reconciliation with the Jumoke Akindele faction.

This position was revealed by the spokesperson of the faction, Honourable Irole Ogundeji while addressing journalists in Ibadan on Monday.

The faction also advise the state governor-elect, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, to restrain from taking side in the on-going crisis in the house.

Ogundeji while speaking in the presence of the factional speaker, Malachi Coker, his deputy, Ayo Arowele, and other members of the faction said it was untrue that the Coker’s faction was not ready for reconciliation.

According to him, “the grounds for reconciliation is that the Jumoke Akindele’s faction must withdraw the court case against his own faction, the House of Assembly complex sealed off by the police should be re-opened and new principal officers of the Assembly should be allowed to preside over the affairs of the house.”

Ogundeji further affirmed that the claim that the Jumoke Akindele faction is calling for reconciliation when a case is still pending in court is nothing “but a carrot and stick approach to reconciliation; such reconciliation is not genuine. If there must be reconciliation, to us here, it must be genuine.”

On the media reports that Coker, and his deputy, Arowele, have gone into hiding over alleged attempts to attack them.

He said many of the members came to Ibadan from Akure this morning (on Monday) for the briefing and will also return to Akure after the press conference.

His words “Some of our members came from Lagos and after this briefing, they would go back to Akure. But the assembly complex was sealed off two weeks ago. What are we going to do in the complex when it has been sealed off? When the complex is re-opened, we will go back.

“We are not the one that should go into hiding, they (Akindele’s faction) is the one that should go into hiding because they are legally impeached and suspended.

“They have questions to answer over the N15million they withdrew from the account of the assembly without parliamentary approval. They said the money is for project. Which project? They should come out and explain why the cheques were not drawn in the names of the contractors and why they wanted to pay contractors raw cash.”

Honourable Ogundeji however reiterated their call to the Inspector-General of Police, Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, and Director of Department State Security in the state to protect them and their families from unknown people who have been threatening them through telephone calls and text messages.