By Alebiosu Solomon
More facts have emerged to lend credence to the circumstances of the death of the late Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Funminiyi Afuye. The social media was agog with the rumour that it was the erstwhile leader of government business (now the new Speaker) of the House of Assembly Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan who poisoned Afuye when they traveled together to the USA before he died on October 19, 2022.
The rumour refused to go away and recent developments in the House of Assembly tend to lend credence to that rumour.
Aribisogan, a ruthless and audacious fellow who was accused of nursing ambition to be Speaker have been accused of plotting his way to the Speakership which finally materialised on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 when he staged a coup to become Speaker. Information revealed that the leadership of the party had agreed that the Southern part of the state be allowed to compete the tenure of late Speaker, Afuye who was also from the Southern district of the state in accordance with the zoning plan of the party. This did not go down well with Aribisogan whose life ambition was to become Speaker. He kept the plan close to his chest until the day of the election of the Speaker when in defiance of the party’s leadership, he was nominated to contest with the party leadership’s preferred choice, Hon. Olubunmi Adelugba who was caught unawares and she lost to Aribisogan with 15 votes to 10. There was not supposed to be another nomination apart from that of Hon. Adelugba as agreed in the meeting with party leaders.
The coup was hatched by the honourable members who did not get return tickets. Aribisogan immediately dissolved all Principal positions and Committees of the House. The aftermath of the coup is the sealing up of the Assembly Complex by security agents who claimed they had intelligence reports that some hoodlums were planning to invade the Assembly. This made workers to hurriedly vacate their offices to safety.
Aribisogan was alleged to have done the same thing to Fayose in 2015 when he was in the 5th Assembly. He was accused of plotting with the late Senator Buruji Kashamu from Ogun State who was a sworn Fayose enemy to get other members of the then house of Assembly to impeach Fayose. Aribisogan was promptly suspended by the House on the orders of Fayose and for over two years his tenure remained, he was barred from entering the house of Assembly. Aribisogan immediately joined the APC and only came back to the House when Fayose’s PDP candidate for the gubernatorial election, Prof. Olusola Eleka lost the 2018 general election to Kayode Fayemi of the APC. Aribisogan was instrumental to the impeachment of the then Speaker, Rt. Hon. Kola Oluwawole who was replaced by Rt. Hon. Femi Alagbada from the Southern Senatorial district of the state. Aribisogan had thought he would become the Speaker at that time, but he lost out to Femi Alagbada in a power game. He was however compensated by Fayemi with a return ticket even amidst protests from his constituency. He became the leader of government business at the inauguration of the 6th Assembly and all his entitlement denied him by Fayose running into millions of naira was paid by the Fayemi administration.
He started nursing the ambition of becoming Speaker immediately the 6th Assembly was inaugurated. There was the rumour that Aribisogan and some members of the Assembly from the northern senatorial district planned to impeach the late Speaker sometime in March 2022 but he denied the allegation.
Aribisogan failed to secure a return ticket to come back to the Assembly in May 2022 because he was so unpopular in his constituency such that he was humiliated at a ward meeting in his constituency when shouts of ole! Ole! (thief) trailed him.
Six months to the end of his present tenure, Aribisogan became more desperate especially after the death of Afuye such that he was accused of killing the late Speaker with poison while they travelled together to the USA and it was as a result of the poison that he died on return from the trip. Some said Aribisogan who is very fetish and mean killed the Speaker with spiritual powers.
The latest coup at the floor of the house on November 15 tend to lend credence to this allegation. Aribisogan was accused of mobilising thugs who were armed to the teeth, to the house of Assembly on the day he was elected. Political observers are asking, now that Aribisogan has realised his life ambition albeit defying the party’s directive and daring APC leaders, what next?
Meanwhile the House of Assembly has remained under lock and key amidst rumours that Aribisogan and his gang are planning to suspend some members not in their camp. Aribisogan was on Channels TV recently where he admitted that he did not know who drafted security to seal up the Assembly complex and this made the interviewer, Seun Okinbaloye to conclude that Aribisogan was not in the control of the house. We shall update you as events unfold in the next few days.
Alebiosu Solomon
writes via
[email protected]
Discussion about this post