Warring Kogi lawmakers resolve 8-month conflict, but who is speaker?

After eights months of crisis, members of the two warring factions in the Kogi state house of assembly have agreed to work for peace.

The crisis broke out following the action of five members to purportedly impeach the speaker, Jimoh-Lawal, and other principal officers.

Yahaya Bello, governor of the state, was accused of being behind the crisis, an allegation that Bello denied.

The situation led to the intervention of the house of representatives, which took over the affairs of the assembly in April.

However, Bello set up an 11-man reconciliation committee, which met the two factions at the governor’s lodge in Lokoja, the state capital.

Present at the meeting held behind closed doors were the governor, Simon Achuba, his secretary, and Folashade Ayoade, secretary to the state government.

Lawal and Ahmed Umar – the factional speakers – led their supporters to the meeting.

Bello, who was the first to come out of the meeting, said that there was no crisis in the assembly, adding that it was a “brotherly disagreement”.

He explained that the disagreement had been resolved, saying that there was no longer division in the assembly.

Mathew Kolawole, a factional majority leader of the assembly, told journalists that the two groups agreed on reconciliation, saying they had agreed on a template for further discussion, but he did not say anything about the speakership position.

Kolawole, who belonged to the G -15 group, which is loyal to Jimoh-Lawal,  said the reconciliation meeting would continue, but he did not mention any.

Also speaking, a member of the house, Hassan Bewa, representing Dekina state constituency confirmed that he and his colleagues had agreed to bury the hatchet to allow the state move forward.

Two members of the house, including Friday Makama  Sani, were absent.

Nihi, the leader of the of the peace committee, expressed happiness that the two factions agreed to work together.

He said members of his committee were mostly youth who were committed to the growth and development of the state.