Earlier, Adenomo had petitioned the house through his lawyer, Mr Kingsley Obamogie, alleging refusal by the Assembly to pay his entitlements as directed by the Supreme Court in its judgment ordering his swearing-in as member.
The lawmaker representing Ovia South West constituency at the Edo House of Assembly, Mr Godwin Adenomo, has been suspended from the house over alleged unpaid salaries and allowances amounting to over N220m.
The suspension was sequel to the consideration of the report of Ad hoc Committee constituted by the house to investigate the allegations levelled against it by the lawmaker.
Earlier, Adenomo had petitioned the house through his lawyer, Mr Kingsley Obamogie, alleging refusal by the Assembly to pay his entitlements as directed by the Supreme Court in its judgment ordering his swearing-in as member.
The court had on December 10, 2017, sacked Mr Sunday Aghedo as member representing Ovia South-West in the assembly in affirmation of a lower court’s earlier judgment, and ordered his replacement with Adenomo.
It held that Adenomo was the duly elected candidate of APC in the assembly’s election in 2015.
During consideration of the report in “the Committee of the Whole”, Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Mr Victor Asein (APC, Owan West), said the lawmaker deliberately shunned the committee’s invitations.
He told the house that Adenomo did not explore the proper channel in line with the Assembly’s rules in pursuing his case. Asein said that the lawmaker’s action was political and a deliberate attempt to malign and bring the house to disrepute. He said that the petitioner’s claims in the petition were frivolous, inaccurate and unfounded.
He explained that salaries and emoluments of members of the legislature are determined by the Revenue Allocation, Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RAMFAC), adding that the committee recommended that the petitioner should be suspended for three months in the first instance, “pending when he presents himself to the committee’’.
The house unanimously adopted the committee’s recommendation and suspended the member for three months.
The Speaker, Kabiru Adjoto, immediately directed the suspended member to submit all government property in his possession to the Deputy Clerk of the assembly. He also directed that clean copies of the resolution be sent to the Governor, Commissioner of Police and the Director of Department of State Security (DSS) in the state.
However, Hon Adenomo told newsmen that he had been marginalized since assumption of office on December 18, 2017, saying: "All my benefits and entitlements have been wilfully held back on the order of the self acclaimed godfather Edo politics."
The lawmaker said he pleaded repeatedly with all the party leaders expecting a peaceful resolution but to no avail. He alleged that the party leaders and the Speaker of the house have been frustrating the efforts to get his entitlements while they had all received theirs. Hon. Adenomo said it is absurd to see some people playing God because they occupy privileged position today.
"If the speaker is of the opinion that the entitlements I'm claiming are bogus, then he should come up with what he believes they owe me," he said.
The lawmaker said the whole episode is blessings in disguise for him as he will now go after his benefits legally, as opposed to waiting for the tenure to expire and close all. He also wondered why people who once benefited from court verdicts would find joy in disregarding court jugements.