There is uncertainty in the camp of some lawmakers who petitioned the Speaker of the Oyo House of Assembly and the Oyo State Governor to express their displeasure over what they received from the state government for the recent Eid-el-Kabir celebration and the non-release of funds for them to carry out empowerment in their various constituencies.
The lawmakers, who are newly elected members of the 10th Assembly, under the umbrella of “Unity Forum,” had in the letter addressed to the Speaker of the Assembly, Honourable Adebo Ogundoyin, with the governor copied, also requested a meeting with Governor Seyi Makinde to directly tell them where things stand on their demands.
The forum comprises 17 members, though the letter was signed by 11 of them.
But some of them, by Wednesday evening, had begun backing out, claiming that they had now reached an understanding with the House leadership on their agitations.
One of the 11 who signed the letter, in a conversation with the Nigerian Tribune on Wednesday evening, said: “The issues have been resolved; we have reached an understanding with the House leadership.
“We have negotiated and settled. They understand what we are requesting, and they now understand that they have to meet up.
“We don’t have anything against the Speaker or the governor. The speaker understands what we are saying, and he is ready to do what we want.
“The governor has done what is necessary, and we appreciate it. We don’t have any problems. We are now happy, and I know the speaker is now happy.
“We are brothers; there is no need for us to fight. When the Speaker has addressed the issues, there is no need for any fight.”
Another member of the 11 said, “Which letter? I am not aware of the letter. I cannot comment on it, please.”
It was gathered that some of the protesting 11 had met with some leaders of the house to recant, stating that they never knew that the letter would blow out as it did, while others are backing out, fearing some form of sanction.
The fear of some form of sanction stems from the fact that the House leadership deems the move of the Unity Forum to take their agitations to quarters outside the Assembly as evidence of mistrust for the House leadership in efficiently giving out whatever is received from the executive if received.
“If there is no approval from the executive, there is nothing the legislature can do,” a leader in the Assembly said.
To quell notions that the Speaker was hiding things, a source said the Speaker would ensure that the agitating lawmakers tell the governor their agitations face-to-face.
Other leaders of the Assembly, in conversations with the Nigerian Tribune, made light of the agitations, saying the protesting lawmakers were new, misguided, and making their requests out of ignorance.
One of the leaders bemoaned that the agitating lawmakers were equating privileges with rights, adding that some of the new lawmakers came with the notion that there was a massive flow of money into the hands of state Assembly lawmakers.
“They are being misguided. They are equating privileges with rights. We are trying to educate them more and let them know what they don’t know.
“There will be no far-reaching decision. We see them as new guys with limited exposure to the workings of the system.
“No drastic action is to be taken. Some have been coming personally to acknowledge that they misrepresented their agitations,” one leader said.
Another leader noted that the House leadership also took note of the fact that some members of the Unity Forum may have intentionally boycotted the recent event organised by the Speaker and family in remembrance of his father.
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