Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
EKiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Thursday inaugurated the sixth state House of Assembly with a promise to relate with the lawmakers with mutual respect.
The governor said he would respect the doctrine of separation of powers by not making the legislature an appendage of the executive.
However, the assembly members, in their first sitting, elected the former Leader of Government Business in the state assembly, Hon. Funniniyi Afuye, as the Speaker of the assembly.
In the same vein, former Senior Special Assistant on Research and Documentation to Fayemi, Hon. Hakeem Jamiu, was unanimously elected the Deputy Speaker.
The immediate past Majority Leader, Hon Gboyega Aribisigan (Ikole 1), retained his position, while Hon. Tajudeen Akingbolu (Ekiti West 1) and Hon Bunmi Adelugba(Emure) emerged Deputy Leader and Chief Whip respectively.
Addressing the lawmakers, Fayemi said he would partner them in ensuring that the ‘Project Ekiti’ does not fail.
“There is nothing like rubber stamp legislature in my government, as I don’t believe in it. We are going to operate with mutual respect for a greater Ekiti State,” he said.
The governor charged those appointed into positions in the assembly to perform their duties with utmost dedication and trust in order for them to earn the respect of their members.
Fayemi said: “ The Project Ekiti is what we all believe in. We must defend it. The process leading to the reclamation of our lost values needs our collective efforts and we must fight hard to achieve this.”
The new Speaker promised to be just, fair and transparent in carrying out his legislative duties
According to him, “I promise that I won’t betray the confidence reposed in me as the Speaker. I shall treat everybody equally and think Ekiti all the time.”
Afuye added that he would be eternally grateful to Ekiti people for the confidence reposed in them, leading to the election of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates across the 26 constituencies of the state.
“I am incurably committed to fulfilling our promises to our people, and that we shall attain,” he added.
Commending Fayemi’s strides in bringing infrastructural development to the state, Afuye said: “The governor is a game changer, a master strategist and a tactician, who is changing the landscape of the state for better.
“We are confident that with the way the governor had started with his development agenda, the values of our society shall not be degraded again, because our governor is a democrat and a man who believes in the spirit of Omoluabi.”
The new Speaker, who is also a former state Commissioner for Information, is representing Ikere constituency 1, while Jamiu is representing Irepodun/Ifelodun constituency II.
Afuye was a member of the state assembly between 2007 and 2011 on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
He was the leader of government business between 2010 and 2011 when Fayemi won through judicial process at the court of appeal.
