Legislative Aides Forum: My removal doesn’t stand, says Melaye’s brother
Adetokunbo Fakeye
The Chairman of National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum, Mr. Sam Melaye, on Sunday in Abuja, described his purported removal by a faction of the organisation led by one Lawson Oviasogie, as a joke, saying it can’t stand.
“The purported removal could not have happened, because no one can sack who he does not have the power to hire ab inito. Let me use use this golden opportunity to appeal to colleagues to rally round the new caretaker committee, to ensure peaceful and smooth transition via credible polls, which will usher in elected leadership of NASSLAF”, he stated.
According to him, the alleged removal exists only as “a figment of imagination of few unscrupulous elements in NASSLAF trying hard to use media to factionalize newly constituted Caretaker Committee.”
The Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikashuwa, was said to have on March 23 appointed and inaugurated the younger Melaye, younger brother to the chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dino Melaye. (APC, Kogi West) as the chairman of a seven-member caretaker committee to run the affairs of NASSLAF for three months before organising a proper election.
But a faction of NASSLAF led by Oviasogie, claimed that they had removed Melaye at a congress held within the National Assembly complex and constituted an electoral committee that would oversee the emergence of a new executive.
But Sam Melaye in a statement, described the reports as “mischievous and fictitious” stories meant to cause friction amongst members and portray NASSLAF in bad light.
He said, “For the clearance of doubt, the Clerk of National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikashuwa, had on March 22 appointed my caretaker committee to run the affairs of the group for three months to create enabling environment to organise election for substantive executive.
“This caretaker committee was set up to avoid any form of vacuum created by the inauguration of current National Assembly which marked the end of previous NASSLAF Executive led by now Honourable member of House of Representaives, Hon. Mahmud Abdulkadir.
“The inauguration conducted by the Clerk of National Assembly took place within the National Assembly premises, in the presence of all the representatives of various security agencies in the National Assembly. We wish to use this medium to urge bonafide members of NASSLAF and general public to ignore the fictitious story meant to cause friction amongst members and portray NASSLAF in bad light.
“In the midst of expressing our electoral rights, we should not forget part of our vision in NASSLAF, which is to protect collective interest of National Assembly Legislative Aides and serve our bosses diligently.”