THE DRAMA UNFOLDS: PDP lawmakers hold plenary in Edo Assembly
The Edo State House of
Assembly crisis took a new twist on Monday morning when the Peoples
Democratic Party lawmakers in the Assembly gained entry into the Anthony
Enahoro Assembly Complex and held a plenary.
The lawmakers, which included the impeached Deputy Speaker,
Festus Ebea, who acted as Speaker, and three suspended members, sat in
front of the entrance to the chamber.
It was gathered that the lawmakers had converged at the
Assembly complex as early as 7am, with a mace and a Sergeant at Arms,
overheard exclaiming, “Mr. Speaker” repeatedly as the “House” rose.
Ebea, while briefing newsmen after the sitting of the four
members, said the lawmakers had resolved that the renovation in the
Assembly Complex was illegal.
He said, “It did not go through due process. It did not
pass through my table, as the Chairman of the Committee on Tenders
Board.”
He also stated that the Speaker, Uyi Igbe, and other
principal officers of the House, whom they had suspended, should be
prevented from making withdrawals from the Assembly’s account.
Ebea said the House had further asked Governor Adams
Oshiomhole to pay the outstanding entitlements of the recalled teachers
and instructed the 18 local government chairmen to forward their
receipts of cash disbursements to the House, to ascertain why “most of
the local governments failed to meet up with their financial
obligations”.
A heavy presence of security operatives was noticed around
the Assembly, causing traffic gridlock on major roads around the
building.
Source: The Punch
