Ex-Lagos Deputy Governor, Femi Pedro Begs Assembly For Mercy

A former deputy governor of Lagos State, Otunba Femi Pedro last week appealed to the state House of Assembly to revisit his impeachment by the 5th Assembly in 2007.
It will be recalled that Pedro was impeached by the state House of Assembly towards the tail end of the administration of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the governor of the state.
In a letter read on the floor of the House by the Clerk of the House, Mr. Ganiyu Abiru, the ex-deputy governor made a plea to the House to revisit his impeachment on compassionate grounds.
The Clerk also stated that the letter from the former deputy governor was attached to his letter of resignation, which he wrote before his eventual impeachment.
In his contribution, a member of the House, Hon. Rotimi Olowo from Shomolu Constituency I, told his colleagues to reverse the impeachment of Mr. Pedro, arguing that the tone of the letter showed that the former deputy governor was remorseful of his action then.
The lawmaker added that Pedro is his close friend, who according to him, is upright in character, saying that the purpose of carrying out the impeachment then was not based on fraud or criminal activities.
“The purpose of the impeachment is not traceable to fraud or misconduct, probably it was because of high-handedness or lack of respect for constituted authority. Mr. Speaker, I suggest we set up an Ad-hoc committee to either sustain or revisit the resolution of the 5th Assembly,” Olowo opined.
Another lawmaker, Hon. Abiodun Tobun from Epe1 however, had a contrary opinion. He believed that the 5th Assembly that impeached Pedro had actually done a good job.
He advised his colleagues to tread cautiously, saying that “many of us were not here, when the House took the decision. We have to look at the circumstances surrounding the impeachment process critically so that we do not err.”
Also commenting on the issue, Hon. Moshood Oshun, Lagos Mainland II reiterated the need to follow due process before taking decision on the plea by the ex-governor.
“We can’t base any submission on an assumption. Though, the tone of the letter is an appeal, yet an Ad-hoc committee would have to be set up to look into the issue critically,” Oshun said.
The Speaker of the House,Rt. (Hon.) Mudashiru Obasa subsequently constituted an 8-man ad-hoc committee headed by the Majority Leader, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade.
Other members of the committee include: Desmond Elliot, Surulere I, Folajimi Mohammed Ikeja I, Muyiwa Jimoh Apapa II, Kazeem Alimi, Eti-Osa I, Shokunle Hakeem, Oshodi-Isolo I, Gbolahan Yishawu Eti-Osa II and Moshood Oshun Lagos Mainland II.