By Ademola Adeleke
The Deputy Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr Hakeem Jamiu has dismissed the publication in one of the National dailies that he was nursing a speakership ambition.
In a release made available to the press, Jamiu said it was height of insensitivity to be jostling for the position when the body of the late speaker, Funminiyi Afuye was still in the morgue.
The statement reads in parts:
My attention has been drawn to a story on page 18 of The Nation of Wednesday October 26, titled ” Exclusive: Three Lawmakers in hot race for Ekiti Speakership”. Let me say categorically that the story is a lie from the pit of hell! Apart from being an imagination of the writer, the story is malicious, wicked and insensitive.
I am not in any pursuit of the Speakership of Ekiti House of Assembly and I am not aware any of the honourable members mentioned in the story are lobbying for the position.
It is heartless and mean for any member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly to be jostling for the position of Speaker when the body of late Rt. Hon. Funminiyi Afuye is still in the morgue! We are still in shock even as we have observed 7 days of mourning which ended only yesterday.
Rt. Hon. Afuye was very dear to us and it will amount to an insult on his memory for us to be jostling for his position when he has not even been interred.
Most of these insinuations are beer parlour gists and social media rumours which I don”t expect any reporter worth his salt to take serious! This is exactly what I told the reporter of The Nation when he called me for my reaction two days ago and I wonder why he didn’t publish my reaction exactly the way I put it but rather chose to concoct a story that is far from the truth by insinuating that three Honourable members are jostling for the Speakership.
I demand a retraction of this story and an apology from the newspaper. The story has portrayed those of us mentioned as wicked, callous and insensitive.
Kindly give this rejoinder the same space and circulation sir.
Thanks
Rt. Hon. Hakeem Jamiu
Deputy Speaker,
Ekiti State House of Assembly
