The simmering crisis in Ekiti State House of Assembly assumed another dimension on Monday when Action Congress (AC) lawmakers stormed the assembly complex demanding the mace.
Also, the tyres of the official car of the Speaker were allegedly deflated as AC legislators insisted that the House must sit against the Speaker’s earlier claim that it had adjourned sine die.

The AC lawmakers also stormed the office of the State Independent Electoral Commission(SIEC), where they warned members of staff. They had told them: “There is no constitutionally recognized SIEC in place in the state.”
The lawmakers also warned all the alleged members of the contentious SIEC not to spend any state fund on any “kangaroo election,” as they would be liable to trial in court of law.

Sounding a note of warning at the state-owned Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES), the legislators expressed displeasure at the way political reports are being handled by the station, suggesting that they should always balance their stories before going on air.
They, however, told the station not to carry any story on SIEC, as it does not exist.
In his reaction, the Speaker, Femi Bamisile, condemned the actions of his AC counterparts, accusing them of playing politics of bitterness.

He, however, dismissed the impression that there was crisis in the House, saying as far as he was concerned, the House was at peace.
Bamisile said: “I came into the office around 8:45 am to see our AC brothers asking for the mace, but I told them that I am not the custodian of the mace. They were asking for the Clerk and before I knew it, they started rushing into my office trying to forcefully gain entry.
“Can you imagine the Deputy Speaker slapping my PA? We are taking a strong action against him and he will be charged to court and I want to assure you that he will be locked up for the next six months for assaulting my PA.

“They came to the Assembly complex and drove innocent civil servants out of their offices. How do you explain that? How can a group of people who call themselves honourable members behave so irresponsibly? How will the people of their constituencies feel?
“The mace is not missing. I am not the custodian of the mace, but I know it is kept somewhere within the Assembly, but it is not missing. I don’t want you to believe all those lies being bandied about.
“I am just being informed that the Deputy Speaker deflated the tyres of my vehicle. That is unfortunate. If they are advised by their party to be acting this way, I think that is very unfortunate. This House is meant for people of sane minds and politics is not meant for people of feeble minds.”

In his response, at a joint press conference at the party’s secretariat in Ado-Ekiti, Deputy Speaker of the House, Saliu Adeoti said inasmuch as he would not want to dignify Bamisile with an answer, all the allegations levelled against him were baseless and blatant lie.
He, however, said that AC would not boycott the council election, which has been allegedly fixed for May 27, but swore that the election would not hold until the state electoral body is reconstituted. He didn’t disclose how this would be achieved.

Adeoti, who spoke at length on behalf of other AC legislators, said: “This is one of the series of actions to free Ekiti people from these political harlots and their acts of recklessness. We have gone to meet with our traditional rulers on the implication of the illegalities being wreaked on our people.
“We will not boycott the election, but the election will not hold and we commend Gen Kayode Oni (retd) for rejecting the offer of SIEC chairmanship. He is a man of honour and we want others to follow suit.

“As far as Ekiti people are concerned, there is no SIEC in Ekiti State. If there will be an election in the state, SIEC must be constitutionally, legally and properly constituted. We warn those people to stop parading themselves as SIEC members and they should not spend the money appropriated to the agency.”

Hon Funminiyi Afuye, the AC leader in the House, said they stormed the Assembly to demand the mace, saying Bamisile was no longer recognized as Speaker of the House. He accused him of smuggling the mace to his Omuo-Ekiti country home.
Afuye, who confirmed their visit to SIEC and BSES, dismissed the claims of Bamisile that the House had adjourned sine die. He said it was wrong for seven PDP lawmakers in the House to sit at odd hours to screen SIEC nominees.

“We don’t recognize the charade of last Tuesday. It cannot hold and it cannot stand. We also warned BSES staff against carrying any news about SIEC because there is no SIEC known to law in the state and we are ready to pursue the matter legally, politically and constitutionally,” he said.
Olajide Awe, the state chairman of AC, said the party was in full support of the action of its lawmakers, accusing the PDP administration and its lawmakers of taking the people of the state for a ride.

He said it was absurd for seven PDP members of the House to hold the people of the state to ransom.
Addressing AC legislators at the conference, Awe said: “There will be a mass action in this state against this temporary PDP government. The party machinery is behind you in this struggle because this state belongs to all of us.

“The party has sent messages to all traditional rulers that the intention of Oni and Bamisile is to set Ekiti on fire. Your action is in line with the party’s decision and we are fully behind you in your bid to set Ekiti free from the PDP intransigents.”