THE Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Right Honourable Kola Oluwawole, has said that the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti judgment, ordering the swearing in of one Toyin Obayemi as a lawmaker in the state is on appeal, saying; “as the head of the State House of Assembly lawmakers, all that I have on the matter are within the ambit of the law.”
He described newspaper reports on a ruling by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti, purportedly ordering him to appear before it on November 24 as embarrassing, noting that he was yet to be served with any court order to that effect.
The Speaker, in a statement signed by his special assistant on media, Stephen Gbadamosi, on Friday, declared that “even a novice to the law knows that once a matter is a subject before the Court of Appeal, until that appeal is dispensed with, it would be sub-judicial for anyone to take any action on it.”
He said he had not received any contempt process, meaning that he was not aware of any contempt proceeding against him.
“At the height of the matter, we consulted with the State Ministry of Justice, and we were categorically made to understand that the matter is a subject before the Court of Appeal; and that until that appeal is dispensed with, it would be sub-judicial for me to take any action on it.
“Hence, the Ministry of Justice advised us to leave the matter and allow the court process to run its full and normal course. As of today, the appeal is yet to be decided,” the Speaker said.
Oluwawole said further, “inasmuch as the courts are the last hope of all citizens, it would be wrong, and even dangerous for our democracy, for any individual or institution to pre empt the outcome of their decisions.”
