Towards the end of the administration of the Bola Tinubu government in Lagos state, his then deputy, Femi Pedro, was impeached by the state house of assembly. This was despite the fact that the man had already handed in his resignation letter.
Pedro defected to the Labour Party on which platform he ran unsuccessfully to become governor of Lagos state in 2007. He has since returned to the APC (formerly ACN).
Now, Pedro has written to the new assembly, imploring them to revisit his impeachment by the 5th assembly in 2007.
Pedro’s letter was read on the floor of the Lagos assembly by the Clerk, Ganiyu Abiru.
In the letter, he asked the assembly to be compassionate and revisit his impeachment. He attached a copy of his resignation to his letter.
In his contribution, a member, Rotimi Shomolu representing Shomolu constituency I, told his colleagues to reverse the impeachment, arguing that the tone of the letter showed that the former deputy governor was remorseful of his action while in office.
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 tendencies.
“The purpose of the impeachment is not traceable to fraud or misconduct, probably 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.
Hon. Abiodun Tobun, representing Epe constituency 1, however made a contrary opinion. He expressed belief that the 5th Assembly that impeached Pedro had actually done a good job.
He advised his colleagues to tread cautiously, saying “many of us were not here when the House took the decision. We have to look critically at the circumstances surrounding the impeachment process so that we do not err.”
Also commenting on the issue, 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.
In consideration of the letter, the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa constituted an eight-man ad hoc committee headed by the Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade.
