Drama as Hoodlums Snatch Mace During Ogun Legislative Inauguration

Mild drama unfolded on Thursday during the inauguration of the legislative arm of Abeokuta North Local Government Area in Ogun State, as some youths, reportedly acting on the orders of Council Chairman Lanre Oyegbola, seized the mace.

The session began with Moruf Erubami’s unopposed swearing-in as Speaker of the House. However, tensions arose when councillors demanded a voting process to elect other principal officers.

EKO HOT BLOG gathered that the incident occurred at the council secretariat in Akomoje, Abeokuta, where Oyegbola, recently inaugurated alongside 19 other council chairmen by Governor Dapo Abiodun, was in attendance.

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Sources revealed that the 16-member assembly split into two factions—nine members against seven—triggering a standoff. Following Erubami’s acceptance speech, police officers attached to the council chairman reportedly fired shots outside the chambers.

Shortly thereafter, youths loyal to the chairman allegedly stormed the chambers and fled with the mace, plunging the event into chaos. Attendees, including All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders, were said to have fled for safety.

Erubami, representing Ward 15, confirmed the incident to Daily Trust, accusing the chairman of orchestrating the disruption.

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“We couldn’t complete the inauguration because the mace was taken and placed in the chairman’s patrol vehicle,” Erubami said. “While the chairman backed my emergence as Speaker, disagreements arose over electing other principal officers. The members insisted on voting, but the chairman opposed it, wanting his preferred candidates to be appointed.”

Erubami added that the legislative house remains split, with nine members favoring a voting process and seven aligned with the chairman. “The chairman knew we had the majority and didn’t want voting to proceed,” he concluded.

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