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Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Kogi Assembly: An inconclusive impeachment?


After the drama of the November 21 inconclusive governorship election, Kogi State, where two of Nigeria’s major rivers meet, is again offering the political tableau another drama with the narrative of an inconclusive impeachment! By Kingsley Fanwo Trouble started in the Kogi State House of Assembly last Wednesday when 17 of the 25
legislators allegedly signed up for the impeachment of the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Momoh Jimoh Lawal. The Speaker was accused of among other things of “gross ineptitude and high- handedness”. For about two weeks, some members of the Assembly were said to have met at a popular hotel in Lokoja to hatch the impeachment plot. On Wednesday December 9, 2015, the cloud of uncertainty was lifted as about nine
lawmakers rose on the floor of the House almost simultaneously to raise a motion in support of the speaker’s impeachment. Speaker’s impeachment The lawmakers were led by Hon. Gabriel Osiyi of Ogori/
Magongo Constituency and Hon. Matthew Kolawole Matthew of
Kabba/Bunu Constituency who is
also the Majority Leader of the House. Violence erupted almost immediately as lawmakers loyal to the Speaker rose to attack his antagonists. As the fisticuffs ensued, a legislator rose to move a motion for the adjournment of the House, a request which was obliged hastily by the Speaker who promptly adjourned House sittings till February 3, 2016. Immediately the adjournment was announced, the Sergeant-at-arms bolted away with the mace even as the legislators against the speaker protested and waited back to carry out the
“impeachment of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Minority Leader”. Thereafter, the remaining legislators who were about nine in number but claimed to have the
signatures of 17 members for the impeachment, “elected” Hon. Gabriel Osiyi of Ogori/
Magongo Constituency as the “new Speaker”. Since then, Osiyi and Lawal have been in conflict over the appropriateness of the impeachment of Lawal and the election of Osiyi. The Majority Leader of the House, Prince Kolawole who was in the lead in the move to remove the presiding officer told Vanguard that there was no going back on the impeachment, saying the Speaker lacks capacity to ensure effective leadership of the House. According to the Majority Leader, the invasion of the Assembly complex by thugs is an admission of failure by the ousted Speaker. He said the House leadership will probe the
invasion and the attack of the sponsored thugs on Assembly staff and journalists. Giving his own version to Vanguard, Lawal said the purported impeachment was a ruse. He said the House had been adjourned till February 2016 before the “dissidents allegedly came up with forged signatures” to impeach him. He said the police and other security agencies have been contacted to probe the forgery.

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