A Non-Governmental Organisation, the Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State has accused the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salaam, of docility.
The CSCEOS alleged that the Speaker had been “bought over” by Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
According to the human rights group, since the Speaker assumed office, he has yet to legislate people-friendly laws.
The group alleged that Salaam was responsible for the misery civil servants in the state currently face.
Workers in the state, under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress, on Friday, declared an indefinite strike over the modulated salaries paid by the Aregbesola-led administration.
The workers shunned pleas by the governor and downed tools to press home their demands for full salaries and payment of outstanding half salaries.
Speaking with our correspondent on the phone, the state NLC Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Sulaiman, argued that Salaam did not merit the position he was currently occupying, alleging that the Speaker’s decision to share tom tom sweet and Lipton tea bags to his constituents in Ejigbo recently confirmed that he was a “rubber stamp,” who could not give meaningful dividends of democracy to his constituents.
Berating the Speaker further, Sulaiman argued that his alleged action reduced his constituents to “beggars.”
The human rights group, however, asked the people of the constituency to collect signatures for the immediate removal of the Speaker, claiming that Salaam had abused his office and shown incompetence by his conduct since he got into office.
He alleged that Salaam had been hobnobbing with Governor Aregbesola to pay workers half salaries as the governor controlled the affairs of the state lawmakers through the Speaker of the House of Assembly.
The Speaker is just the Governor’s rubberstamp
Alimi said, “It is shameful that someone who calls himself Speaker can descend so low as to be distributing tom tom, Lipton tea and gala to his constituents in a motorcade. This is a senseless attitude and it portrays the Speaker as a toddler.
“The Office of the Speaker is a respected office, but it’s unfortunate that Mr. Speaker has been following the governor of the state dogmatically. That is why people call him a rubber stamp Speaker, who does not have any significant bearing on the people of the state. Salaam lacks merit to be a Speaker in the first place and that is why he decided to turn his constituents to beggars.
`But reacting, the Speaker denied distributing such items, saying the allegations were baseless and fabricated to truncate his governorship ambition next year.