By Ayo Kehinde
Ondo lawmakers have dismissed accusation by governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu that they concocted the snake scare story to blackmail the government.
The story that a big snake fell into the chambers of the House of Assembly, forcing the lawmakers to abandon proceedings has been trending for over a week until the governor paid a scheduled visit to the House of Monday during which he dressed down the lawmakers and accused them of circulating falsehood as news.
In a new twist to the ensuing drama surrounding the story, the legislators have turned around to restate the story as earlier carried by the media, asserting that governor Akeredolu’s office doctored the video of his visit to create the impression that the story was false and maintain his allegation of sabotage.
“We want to restate and reaffirm that on Wednesday, July 24, a snake fell from the ceiling into the chambers of the House”, the lawmakers stated in a communiqué issued yesterday after a meeting at the house of Speaker, Bamidele Oleyelogun, in Akure, the state capital.
They added: “Also, on Thursday, July 25, part of the ceiling caved in and fell into the chambers, preventing us from holding a scheduled meeting inside the chambers.
They decried the poor state of the legislative complex and described it as the worst among its peers across the country, adding that the complex had not been rehabilitated in the last 10 years.
In the communiqué read to newsmen by Mr Success Torukerijo, the member representing Ese Odo Constituency, the lawmakers said: “We take exception to the doctored video released by the media office of the governor when the governor visited the house on Friday, July 26, and we will not want to join issues by releasing the original version of the video.
“We reiterate the constitutional status of the legislature as an independent arm of government which, therefore, deserves to be accorded such.
“We want to state, without any equivocation, that no fund had been released to the House of Assembly for capital projects in the last five years in spite of budgetary provision.
“That there has not been any cash backing for renovation of the House of Assembly in the past 10 years.
“It is pitiable that the Ondo State House of Assembly Complex is the worst in terms of infrastructure in the whole country.
“It may also interest the public to know that the offices of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker do not have official cars.
“We appreciate all who showed genuine concern since this incident of the house and we want to assure the people of Ondo State that we are determined to make laws that will advance Ondo State and we shall not waiver in this responsibility,” the lawmakers stated.
The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Donald Ojogo, in a reaction reportedly said, “no comment”.
