A pall of gloom and disappointment enveloped the Ogun Assembly complex in Oke-Mosan and the legislative quarters near Kuto on Tuesday as the planned inauguration of the 10th Assembly was cancelled abruptly.
Many of the members-elect were shocked and disappointed when they discovered a heavy presence of security personnel at the entrance gate who barricaded it against any access to the facility.
Those who reported to the venue, especially members-elect from the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with the hope of taking their Oaths of Office were asked by the security operatives to go back as the inauguration had been postponed.
A detachment of police and personnel of the Department of State Security (DSS) was seen at the assembly complex.
A palpably disappointed member – elect, Olalekan Adeleye of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-representing Odogbolu constituency, said that no letter was issued for the postponement.
He added that not every member – elect was aware of the WhatsApp message purportedly announcing the postponement.
“What is happening here this morning is strange. We are in high spirit yesterday, hoping that we will resume here at 9am for our inauguration.
” To our dismay, we are locked out and we started asking questions what happened and someone called my attention to a WhatsApp message purportedly sent by the Clerk of the House that the Inauguration has been postponed to June 20.
” The notice of this inauguration was sent via a proclamation letter written by the governor that the 10th Assembly would start by June 13.
“And if there is going to be postponement, such proclamation letter should be withdrawn followed by another proclamation letter conveying the new date,” he said.
A statement by obtained by NewMailNG showed that the Clerk of the house, Deji Adeyemo, regretted the postponement.
“The Holding of the First Session of the Tenth Assembly of the Ogun State Legislature has been postponed to Tuesday, 20th June, 2023.
“This is according to a release by the Clerk of the Assembly, Mr. Deji Adeyemo, stating that any inconvenience caused by the postponement is regretted,” the release stated.
The immediate past Speaker, Kunle Oluomo, advised the opposition party members-elect to stay calm, saying the news of the postponement was sent via the platform created for the newly elected members and the returning ones.