By Lekan Adejuwon
The Ekiti State House of Assembly has constituted a 5-member ad hoc committee to investigate suspected deceitful acquisition of Ekiti land by foreigners for ulterior motives and to perpetrate illegal mining operations.
The Speaker, Rt.Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye announced this during plenary on Monday 7th August, 2023, following a matter raised under Matter Of Urgent Public Importance by Hon. Lateef Akanle, member representing Ekiti East II, alerting the House on a viral article making rounds on social media.
The Speaker, while announcing the composition of the ad-hoc committee, tasked the panel to carry out a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the matter saying the committee would be chaired by Hon. Babatunde E. Omotayo.
“Other members are Hon. Babatunde Fawekun, Hon. Temitope Longe, Hon. Oluwayomi Ayorinde and Hon. Barr. Iyabode Okieimen,” he said.
The committee is expected to complete its assignment in one and half weeks.
In their various contributions, while some members expressed that the claims made in the article are not supported with credible evidence, others opined that the information should not be neglected and urged the House to take necessary actions to ascertain the veracity of the claims.
“I urge you to exercise caution and verify information from reliable sources before drawing conclusions”, the Speaker added.
Following the Motion moved by Hon. Abimbola Solanke, Moba I and was seconded by Hon. Abiodun Fawekun, Ido/Osi I, the House also passed Resolutions calling on healthcare agencies to implement regulations pertaining to anthrax and diphtheria prevention, as well as puting in place necessary measure at containing the spread of the diseases in the State.
In like manner, the House has asked the Ministry of Works and Transport including relevant authorities to check the illegal erection of speed bumps on streets and highways as well as enforce compliance with speed limits.
The resolution followed the adoption of a Motion moved by Hon. Babatunde Oke, member representing Ikere (I) and seconded by Hon. Johnson Oyekola Bode-Adeoye Ekiti West I at the day’s plenary. The motion is titled ‘the need to properly regulate erection of speed bumps on highways and other roads in Ekiti State”.
Also, the Bill for a Law to make provision for Ekiti State Electric Power Sector and for related matter, 2023 was read the second time by the Clerk of the House, Mr Tola Esan.
Leading the debate, the Majority Leader Hon. Tolu Ige said the Bill, if passed into law would diversify the power sector to accommodate cleaner renewable energy sources, as well as boost investment from private sector participation in Ekiti State.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye committed the Bill to the Committee on Infrastructure and Public Utility for further legislative scrutiny after a thorough debate.
