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| Executive Governor of Benue State |
National Assembly members from Benue state have condemned the actions of
the Police and the DSS who they accused of aiding eight members of the Benue
State House of Assembly led by the impeached Speaker, Terkimbi Ikyange, take
over the floor of the Assembly to make sensitive pronouncement of impeaching
Governor Samuel Ortom despite a Makurdi High court order restraining him.
Speaking through Senator Barnabas Gemade, the Federal Lawmakers also
frowned at the action of the state lawmakers whom said claimed to have raised a
motion of impeachment on the Governor despite their failure to form a quorum.
According to the Federal Lawmakers “Seeing us here during our recess is
as a result of the event that took place here this morning. “We are on
vacation, we heard this and so we rushed here to see for ourselves what has
happened “And we have learnt with great shock and disbelief with what had taken
place here today, where in a commando style, the Nigerian security forces made
up of Police and DSS would storm the state and cause the minority group of the
legislators to meet, loyal to one political party and allow them to make
pronouncement on issues which are supposed to be deliberated by every member of
the 8th Assembly. “This is an illegal action and we are extremely surprised
that under democracy, a minority group can be given this kind of unimpeded
access with security to cause illegally. “And we members of the National
Assembly frown against this extremely and we came here to pay our solidarity to
the governor and the people of Benue state. “Defection from a political party
is not a crime and therefore those of us who have left one political party to
the other have not done anything wrong therefore nobody should be vilified for
the step we have taken because democracy is about freedom of choice. “People
have made their choices, they should be left with their choices. When we stood
election we chose the party we stood election in and when we operate we also
operate for the people who elected us. “The prime duty of a legislator is to
represent his people and therefore he should never be stopped from representing
his people. “So 22 members that formed the majority, because they belong to a
particular political party were stopped from exercising their fundamental
rights in attending Assembly and doing what they should do. “It’s absolutely
wrong and we condemn it with all seriousness. And we will ensure that when we
go back to Abuja, we will inform the National Assembly, leadership and members
and where possible they will take action as is expected of them following the
provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as
amended.” they stated. The eight lawmakers had earlier in the day sat in the
House with Police protection, suspended 15 members of the House and and raised
a motion of impeachment of the Governor with the impeached speaker promising to
serve the Governor the notice within seven days. Meanwhile a Makurdi High
Court, presided over by Justice Adam Onum had on the July 27, 2018 issued an ex
parte interim order restraining the impeached speaker from parading himself as
the speaker of the House pending the hearing of the substantive suit brought
before the court by 22 members of the House of Assembly the day he was impeached.
Source: Vanguard news
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