…I ‘m been victimised for not defecting – Lawmaker
The lawmaker, representing Balogun/Ojomu constituency of Offa in Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon Saheed Popoola, is facing probe over allegations of fraud levelled against him by a colleague.
However, Mr. Popoola has described all the allegations as lies saying he was being victimised for his decision not to defect.
Popoola is the only member of the House among the 24 lawmakers that did not defect to the opposition PDP.
The Speaker, Dr Ali Ahmad, while opening discussion for the petition on the floor of the House Tuesday, said: “With the volume of the petitions and contents, and even reactions from that constituency, they want the lawmaker to be suspended, but we can’t act like a military regime here.
“The appropriate committee will handle investigation of those allegations to know their veracity or otherwise, because we have to ensure thorough fairness and justice in everything we do here for the sake of posterity.”
He said three petitions, which bordered on certificate forgery and bounced cheque were presented against the lawmaker at yesterday’s plenary.
He referred the petitions to the House Joint Committees on Public Petition and Justice for thorough investigation in a bid to ensure fairness.
The joint committees were given two weeks to report its findings back to the House.
In reaction, the embattled lawmaker noted that the speaker took the right step, adding that “They want to suspend me, but it’s a cooked up story because I didn’t defect with them.“And if there is anything of such as forgery, I don’t think it’s the duty of the House but that of INEC to investigate and give back their report.
“And on the issue of dude cheque, the house is not the court of law and people should go to the police” he added.
