Speakership must return to Edo Central ―Traditional rulers

TRADITIONAL rulers in Edo North and Edo Central senatorial districts of the state have asked lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly to return to the status quo by making a lawmaker from the Edo Central senatorial district speaker of the state House of Assembly.

Majority lawmakers in the Assembly had last week removed Hon Justin Okonoboh, who is from the Edo Central district, and replaced him with Hon Kabiru Adjoto from the Edo North district.

However, at a summit held Wednesday in the palace of the Otaru of Auchi, HRH Alhaji Aliru Momoh, Ikelebe III, traditional rulers from the two geo-political zones stated that they were in agreement with the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewaure II that the lawmakers acted like hooligans in effecting leadership change in the Assembly.

The Otaru who addressed journalists at the end of the summit, said the power equilibrium in the state has been tampered with and that the scale can no longer stand.

He said, “We are meeting the Oba. We will send delegation to the Benin Monarch to inform him that we support him on his comments as regards what happened in the Edo State House of Assembly.

“We feel that equity and justice must prevail. Edo Central must have somebody who should be the speaker of Edo State House of Assembly.

“We are going to see what we can do to bring justice to the state over that matter. The balancing factor has been displaced and it is not a good thing for us if we have to navigate justice.”

On the call for restructuring by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Otaru said they resolved that Nigeria does not need restructuring but justice and “restructuring of the heart.”

He said there would no clamour for restructuring if every Nigerian was treated equally.

He said, “We felt that restructuring is nothing to do other than justice. Justice has no boundary. Everybody has to be treated equally. We appeal that everybody has to restructure their heart to do the good thing.

“Restructuring is not the problem of this country but the restructuring of our heart to the belief that we are all one nation.

“If we have good roads, water, railways, nobody will be talking about restructuring because the poor and the rich will have an environment that provides for all.

“The structure of wages and salaries is lopsided. We feel that the salary of the top should reduce and the bottom should rise. There should be a living wage for the low income earners.”