No Lawmaker was Indicted for Certificate Forgery, Ekiti Assembly Clarifies

Olakiitan Victor in Ado Ekiti

The Ekiti State House of Assembly has denied the allegation that nine of its members were indicted by security agency for certificate forgery.

It described the report as not only baseless and wicked, but a continuation of relentless efforts of faceless enemies of the state to discredit the government.

The assembly also noted that the rumour that the lawmakers were in hiding was a proof that “liars and enemies of progress are at work,” as “the House held its parliamentary meeting in the complex on Monday without any fear, let or hindrance.”

According to a statement by the chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan, the House was composed of professionals in different fields of endeavour who had made their impacts in their respective sectors.

“It has come to the attention of the Ekiti State House of Assembly that some enemies of the state, in their unrelenting bid to discredit the state government, have alleged, through an apparently-sponsored story in a newspapers that nine of the 26 honourable members of the House are under investigation for alleged certificate forgery.

“This is clearly a careless and baseless allegation, considering that all the members of the House were duly screened by relevant government agencies prior to their election into the House. Besides, it is suspect that the said story merely quoted a nebulous and faceless source and it appeared only in the said newspaper.

“No member of this House has been invited for questioning by any government agency over issue of certificates. The records of academic qualification, as presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of all the members are available in their respective schools.

“For the avoidance of doubt, members of the House are credible people drawn from different professional sectors and they have made marks in their respective fields. This is a House that has accountant, journalist, medical doctor, retired civil servant, technocrats, among others as members.

“That the rumour that the lawmakers were in hiding trailed the evil allegation is further proof that it is the figment of the imagination of the authors. We converged on the Assembly complex today for our routine parliamentary meeting today without any fear, let or hindrance,” he said.

Aribisogan warned that “no amount of mudslinging and evil shenanigan of the enemies of the state government would make us cringe. We are unwavering in our resolve to assist the Ayodele Fayose-led government in its effort to clear the mess that the APC-led government of Dr Kayode Fayemi has made of the state.”