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The Speaker of the
House of Representatives may be advised to step down next week,
following increased calls for his resignation. A highly placed security
source has revealed that Goodluck Jonathan will have crucial talks with
Dimeji Bankole ahead of the House reconvening on June 22.

“Bankole has a lot
of problems on his hands,” the source said. “I can tell you that Mr
President is unhappy with the situation and will demand a meeting with
him to account for the alleged charges brought by his own fellow
representatives.”

On Thursday, a
group of aggrieved House members gave Mr Bankole a seven-day ultimatum
to resign or they will make public some revelations about his
questionable financial practices over the last three years. Dino
Melaye, spokesperson of the group, said Mr Bankole would face
impeachment if he did not voluntarily step down.

“We are calling on Bankole to resign honourably within seven days or we will make the House ungovernable for him,” he said.

The security source
added that many of the allegations of corruption have already been
documented but that he was aware that there were new charges about to
resurface.

“Some of these charges are already in the public domain. Mind you, none has been taken up,” the source said.

“There are others
which have been made quiet but I can tell you that one includes a bogus
land deal right here in Abuja.” The Governor’s Forum may again be used
by Mr Jonathan to put pressure on Mr Bankole if he remains resolute.

“We saw with
Ogbulafor that Mr President does not court scandal in this
administration. A lot depends on whether Bankole is prepared to do the
right thing. If not, the Governors Forum would come into play again and
with Bankole’s gubernatorial ambitions, that is key.”

The rise

The son of an
Abeokuta chief, Dimeji Bankole attended elite schools in England and
the United States before returning to Nigeria to head a number of
businesses. In 2003, he was elected to the House of Representatives on
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to represent the Abeokuta South
constituency of Ogun State.

At 37 years old, he
was the youngest person to assume the role of Speaker of the House,
following the ousting of Patricia Etteh in 2007. He was immediately
besieged by opponents who claimed he did not perform his mandatory
service in the National Youth Service Corps, though that was quickly
quashed when he produced his discharge certificate.

Travel scandal

In 2008, he was
accused of spending over N52 billion on inflated travel and vehicle
expenses. The House’s Ethics and Privileges Committee cleared the
leadership of any wrongdoing. Many of the House members called the act
‘selfish and fraudulent’. Although the case is still under
investigation with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, no
court proceedings have been initiated to date.

Last year, when
late president Umaru Yar’Adua’s illness precipitated a constitutional
crisis, Mr Bankole was perceived to be among the politicians opposed to
the transfer of power to Mr Jonathan.

This only
heightened the rift between him and his opponents, many of whom are
rumoured to be loyal to former president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

In April, the
Speaker narrowly escaped impeachment by aggrieved members of the
Nigeria First Forum (NFF), a pressure group in the House, while he was
stranded in London. The NFF had been formed in February to support Mr
Jonathan as acting president, following the resolution of the National
Assembly.

A month later, Mr
Bankole ran afoul of Representatives when he subtly opposed their
demands for a massive raise in their quarterly allowances. Members
wanted the N27.2 million they receive every four months reviewed
upwards to N42 million.

Bitter battle

Now, as supporters
of the president gear up for a possible run in 2011, the Speaker’s
troubles have only increased. Last Thursday, Mr Bankole and a member of
the House, long-time opponent Independence Ogunewe, nearly came to
blows. The brawl stemmed from the issue of the lucrative chairmanships
of various in-house committees.

In October 2008, Mr
Ogunewe was removed from his position as the chairman of the Committee
on Cooperation and assigned a less influential post. Then in 2009, as
punishment for his role in campaigning for a probe of the Speaker over
a N3.2 billion car fraud, he was stripped of all his chairmanship
positions and suspended for two weeks.

Last Wednesday, the
Speaker announced a minor reshuffle to the current House Committee
chairmen and Mr Ogunewe was unhappy that he was once again denied a
seat, despite Mr Bankole’s promises to restore him. The Speaker had
ousted some committee leaders, replacing opponents with his loyalists –
a move the Speaker alleged earned him death threats.

On Thursday, the
deposed members came together and gave the Speaker the ultimatum. The
members, including Mr Ogunewe, claimed they had incriminating evidence
of Mr Bankole’s corruption, which they were prepared to leak to the
public.

Still, the Speaker is standing his ground – at least for now. His
loyalists have promised to deal decisively with the errant members,
promising to expose their own evidence of misconduct against the group.
The showdown is set for June 22, when the House reconvenes.