By Favour Goodness
There was palpable confusion at the Plateau state House of Assembly following the alleged removal of the Speaker, Ayuba Abok.
It was learnt that eight lawmakers out of the twenty-four members of the Assembly carried out the impeachment at the Assembly after they reportedly entered the complex as early as 6am on Thursday.
And was immediately replaced with the lawmaker representing Pengana constituency, Yakubu Sanda of the All Progressives Congress.
Abok, is a first-term lawmaker representing Jos East state constituency.
Confirming the development, Hon. Musa Agah who represents Rukuba/Irigwe constituency in the state Assembly described the purported removal of the Speaker as “the height of illegality”
Agah explained, “It was this morning that some few members rushed to the Plateau state House of Assembly as early as 6 am. You know the state House of Assembly is made up of 24 members and the constitutional requirement for the removal of the Speaker is 2/3 majority which is 16 members.
“So, eight lawmakers rushed to the Assembly this morning against the House rules that say that plenary commences from 9 am and even if there is going to be an extraordinary sitting, the Speaker is the one who is empowered to convene but that did not happen.
“When some of us got wind of what was happening, we rushed to the Assembly complex only to discover that Security operatives had barricaded everywhere. Some of us were stopped from gaining access to the Assembly complex while they also harassed others.
“While the confusion was going on, the eight members said they have passed a vote of no confidence on the Speaker and went ahead to purportedly remove the speaker,” he said.
