The Peoples Democratic Party says the
Lagos State House of Assembly has reversed the impeachment of former
Deputy Governor Femi Pedro on the instructions of the National Leader of
the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The party, therefore, described the reversal of Pedro’s impeachment as an “embarrassment to democracy”.
Pedro, who served as Tinubu’s deputy
from 2003 to 2007, was impeached for gross misconduct after defecting to
the Labour Party to pursue his governorship ambition.
Pedro, subsequently, left the LP and defected to the PDP in 2010 before returning to the APC in 2013.
The Lagos legislature, last week, pardoned the former deputy governor after nine years, stating that he had learnt his lesson.
A statement by the Information Officer
of the legislature, Kofo Olukoga, had said, “The committee recommended
that Pedro’s plea for pardon on the allegation that led to his
impeachment, which bordered on disloyalty to the party, affront to
constituted authority and insubordination, among others, be forgiven.
“Lawmakers who contributed to the issue
on the floor of the House were of the opinion that the former deputy
governor had gone through psychological trauma for nine years and had
shown remorse through his withdrawal of the court case and should be
forgiven.”
However, the Publicity Secretary of the
PDP, Mr. Taofik Gani, described the reversal of Pedro’s impeachment as a
disgrace to democracy.
Gani told our correspondent during an
interview that the APC-led Assembly only pardoned Pedro because he had
mended fences with Tinubu.
He said another former deputy governor,
Mrs. Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, who also served as Tinubu’s deputy from
1999 to 2003 – when she was impeached – was not pardoned by the House
because she is still a member of the PDP.
The PDP spokesman, therefore, urged Lagosians not to be deceived.
He said, “The reversal of Pedro’s
impeachment is an embarrassment to the change mantra of the APC. It is a
reward for Pedro’s return to the APC. That is how the APC operates. The
moment you are in their camp, even if you commit an offence, they will
look the other way. If you are not in their camp, they will make a
series of allegations against you.
“They impeached Pedro because he went to
the LP. Now that he is in the APC, he is a saint. Even if notorious
armed robber, Lawrence Anini, was in the APC today, he would be called a
saint. How could Pedro’s impeachment be reversed but Bucknor-Akerele,
who fought for democracy, is ignored?”
Asked why the eight PDP members in the
40-member House did not oppose the move to reverse Pedro’s impeachment,
Gani said the exercise was done in a secret manner.
He added that the PDP did not have the numerical strength to oppose the move.
“The House is an embarrassment and it is
Tinubu’s ‘rubber stamp’. The House has been desecrated. If Tinubu tells
them to make a law that will mandate every Lagosian to sleep, they will
do it,” Gani added.
However, the Publicity Secretary of
Lagos APC, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, said the House did not act under Tinubu’s
instructions but made its decision independently.
Igbokwe said Pedro had shown commitment to the party and the government and deserved to be pardoned.
He said, “Pedro erred but retraced his
steps. He worked for the party and showed extraordinary commitment. He
had pleaded for a pardon two years ago but it was only granted
recently.”
When asked why Bucknor-Akerele was not
pardoned, he said, “She left the party and never looked back. She showed
no remorse at all.”
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