VOICE AIR MEDIA, News Update
Allegations have been made by the Osun State Chairman of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR, Emmanuel Olowu, accusing the aides of Adewale Egbedun, Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly of turning the Assembly into their personal properties.
In a petition directed to media houses in the state, Olowu claimed that while attempting to deliver an official letter to the Office of the Speaker, Egbedun and his aides refused to accept the letter and that he was assaulted by one of the Speaker’s aides in the process.
Olowu highlighted, “It should be noted that one of the aides of Mr. Speaker stated, even in the presence of the men of the Nigeria Police who are attached to the office of the Speaker, that he would have assaulted our comrade if not for the fact that he knows him personally, which to us is a clear indication that Mr. Speaker and his aides, in their imagination, have turned the Assembly to their personal property.”
Additionally, Olowu emphasized the potential impact of the rejection of letters on Nigeria’s democracy, stressing that it undermines the principles of open governance and the accessibility of elected representatives by the public.
Calling for media attention to investigate and report on the matter, Olowu stated, “the people have a right to know about actions that impact the democratic fabric of their society.”
Responding to the petition, the Chief Press Secretary to the Osun Assembly Speaker, Olamide Tiamiyu, issued a statement dismissing the allegations as complete falsehoods aimed at misleading the public.
Tiamiyu also revealed that the statement exposed the sinister agenda against the person of Speaker Egbedun and his office.
He further explained that the civil servants working at the office of the Honourable Speaker are the same officers that worked with the former Speaker and it is standard practice for them to accept correspondence from visitors.
Clarifying the specific incident, Tiamiyu detailed, “Emmanuel Olowu’s colleague that came on Tuesday, 19th December, 2023, was said to have come to the House around 5:00 pm and the officer who received him politely told him to bring it the next working day with a counsel that he should correct the errors in the letter.”
He continued, “Yesterday, being Wednesday, 20th December, 2023, Emmanuel came with the letter without correcting the conspicuous error in it and it was taken from him by the most senior officer in that office (a woman) without any noise. After all, that won’t be the first time Osun CDHR will bring an error-laden letter to the House.”
Tiamiyu also refuted the title of the letter, stating that the House of Assembly has never debated any bill related to the retirement age of judges.