Deputy Hall Chairperson Removed; Hall Chairman, Finance Minister, and Defence Minister Referred to Disciplinary Committee

The Hall Assembly sitting slated for 2PM on Sunday was ladened with drama from when the meeting started at 2:18PM till its adjournment nine hours later with the Revamped Agenda team taking major hits.

The main agenda of the meeting was to take financial reports and budget presentations for the hall week. The Speaker told us that the budget should have been ready last year but was not taken because of the COVID situation within the hall.

Following the presentation of the financial report, Hon Adejumo noted that money was budgeted for premium Zoom and subscription for an event that was held physically. The Deputy Hall Chairperson, Miss Oluyole, responded that the money budgeted for the premium Zoom account and data subscription was used to get a plaque for the guest speaker at the event.

On request, she could not tender any evidence for the plaque procurement and did not return the balance from the financial seminar to the Finance Minister since October. This was perceived as an act of misappropriation by the Honourable. The Assembly then directed her to produce evidence for the plaque procurement and reimburse the balance from the event to the Finance Minister in three days. The financial report was not adopted and is to be taken at the next sitting.

The sitting proceeded to take the Hall Week budget. In the absence of the committee heads, the Deputy Hall Chair was to take the budget presentation. However, she could not provide responses to most of the questions posed to her. This prompted some Honourables to doubt her competence in planning the hall week.

At the end of the budget presentation, only the budgets for the symposium, inter-set sports competition, cultural night, bonfire, and awards committee were approved.

Against initial rumours that there would not be a dinner this year, the dinner budget was presented by the Head of the Committee, Miss Toluwalogo Balogun. She, however, noted during her presentation that she only recently became aware she was heading the committee, and some of the things in the budget had been adjusted by the deputy hall chairperson. She again noted that the dinner committee was yet to have any meeting. Following this development, the Assembly moved that the budget be taken later.

The Warden’s Challenge budget was another bone of contention as the committee’s representative, Mr Inioluwa, did not have satisfactory answers to the questions. Honourables and observers noted that there was no concrete information on the venue, sales of form, budget for speakers, printing, judges, etc. The representative reiterated that there would be no sales of forms.

Unfortunately, ABH Press would later gather from the committee head that there would be sales of forms. In fact, the committee head, Mr Segun Ogunlana noted that he did not send a representative to the sitting. Mr Inioluwa later told us that he only presented himself as a committee member since the committee head was not present.

At the end of the sitting, the budgets for CHAP, culinary challenge, Warden’s Challenge, and dinner were to be taken at another sitting. The hall assembly subsequently raised their displeasure in the Deputy Hall Chairperson and Hon. Mark Obeya proposed a vote of no confidence. However, Hon. Michael Adejumo motioned for her impeachment. In a counter-motion, Hon Odewale moved that Miss Oluyole be referred to the Assembly’s disciplinary committee.

Putting the motions to vote by secret balloting, the motion for her removal garnered 11 votes and won by a simple majority.

In another twist of events, the Hall Chairman, Mr Olaoye Jegede, and the Finance Minister, Mr Akinloye were referred to the disciplinary committee for investigation on the grounds of perceived misappropriation of funds.

The Defence Minister, Mr Asoh Eric, was also referred to the disciplinary committee for allegedly turning off power in the hall during the night of the USA bonfire. The Health and Sanitation Minister escaped one of such referrals and he was able to wriggle himself out of allegations of neglect of duties.