Division hits Edo Assembly as Speaker suspends Shaibu’s ally, others
The Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, on Monday, suspended three lawmakers over an alleged plot to impeach him and other principal officers of the Assembly.
One of the suspended lawmakers, Donald Okogbe, representing Akoko-Edo II, is an ally of the impeached deputy governor, Philip Shaibu.
Okogbe, a lawmaker of the Peoples Democratic Party, was the only that did not sign the petition that led to Shaibu’s impeachment.
The two other suspended lawmakers are Addeh Emankhu Isibor, APC, Esan North-East I; and Iyamu Bright, PDP, Orhionnwon II.
The Speaker also accused the lawmakers of bringing native doctors to the House on May 1 at around 1 am to perform some sacrifice.
Agbebaku said the trio was suspended indefinitely, alleging that they were being influenced by external forces to cause chaos and remove the leadership of the House.
The suspension of the lawmakers, however, created tension in the House as the affected lawmakers kicked against their suspension.
In a rowdy session, the three suspended lawmakers were seen screaming “Mr Speaker, you do not have the right to unilaterally suspend any member(s) of the House.
“You must call for votes. Allow members to vote on the matter!” they shouted.
The Speaker, however, adjourned plenary abruptly.
Speaking on the development, Okogbe described the action of the Speaker as illegal, unconstitutional, against his oath of office, the rule of the House and the constitution of the country.
He said, “What happened was that the Speaker came onto the floor and called out my name and the two others, saying that we had been suspended. He said we have a plan to impeach him and that we are the arrowhead.
“The question then is, if there is an impeachment plot, which I am not aware of, is it not within the right of the members?
“The next is, do the members have the reason and number to impeach you? If they have the numbers to impeach you, you vacate and if the members don’t have the numbers, you remain in office.
“Right now, there is no evidence of impeachment, while the power to suspend a member belongs to the House of Assembly and not an individual, including the Speaker.
“The constitution says that the House will not take a decision except by resolution, which presupposes that there is a motion, the motion is seconded and if the motion is not countered, then the motion will be put to vote and the Speaker cannot vote unless there is a tie.
“In this case, the Speaker moved the motion to suspend us, seconded the motion and ruled on the motion, without giving us a fair hearing.
“By all standards, what the Speaker has done is illegal, unconstitutional, against his oath of office, the rule of the House and the constitution of the country. For us it is a nullity, it was done wrongly and cannot stand.”
Okogbe said the three suspended lawmakers met with other members and the majority of the lawmakers did not agree with the suspension.
He said, “We had a meeting with other members and the majority, except one, are against what happened. They said they were going to see the Speaker, talk to him and tell him that what he did was wrong and that he should reverse it.
“The truth is that what he has done has no basis in law or procedure. In fact, it is against the custom and tradition of parliament for one man to believe that his view is superior to that of the majority. It is also against the principle of natural justice, equity and good conscience to be the accuser and the judge.”
It was gathered that there has been a disagreement in the House over the Speaker’s insistence on purchasing a bus for the Assembly with other members stating that the money should be put into constituency project.
