The Ekiti State House of Assembly has described a report in The Punch
newspaper of Monday, July 25, that nine of its lawmakers are being
investigated over certificate forgery as baseless, wicked and a
continuation of relentless efforts of faceless enemies of the state to
discredit the government.The Assembly also noted that the rumour that
the lawmakers were in hiding was a proof that “liars and enemies of
progress are at work,”
as “the House held its parliamentary meeting in the complex today
(Monday) without any fear, let or hindrance.”
According to a statement by the chairman, House Committee on
Information, Honourable Gboyega Aribisogan, the House was composed of
professionals in different fields of endeavour who had made their
impacts in their respective sectors.
“It has come to the attention of the Ekiti State House of Assembly that
some enemies of the state, in their unrelenting bid to discredit the
state government, have alleged, through an apparently-sponsored story in
The Punch newspaper of Monday, July 25, that nine of the 26 honourable
members of the House are under investigation for alleged certificate
forgery.
“This is clearly a careless and baseless allegation, considering that
all the members of the House were duly screened by relevant government
agencies prior to their election into the House. Besides, it is suspect
that the said story merely quoted a nebulous and faceless source and it
appeared only in the said newspaper.
“No member of this House has been invited for questioning by any
government agency over issue of certificates. The records of academic
qualification, as presented to the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), of all the members are available in their respective
schools.
“For the avoidance of doubt, members of the House are credible people
drawn from different professional sectors and they have made marks in
their respective fields. This is a House that has accountant,
journalists, medical doctor, retired civil servants, technocrats, among
others as members.
“That the rumour that the lawmakers were in hiding trailed the evil
allegation is further proof that it is the figment of the imagination of
the authors. We converged on the Assembly complex today for our
routine parliamentary meeting today without any fear, let or
hindrance,” he said.
Aribisogan warned that “no amount of mudslinging and evil shenanigan of
the enemies of the state government would make us cringe. We are
unwavering in our resolve to assist the Ayodele Fayose-led government in
its effort to clear the mess that the APC-led government of Dr Kayode
Fayemi has made of the state.”
