Height of Illegality: Confusion in Plateau State as Lawmakers Impeach Speaker at 6am
- Hon Abok Ayuba Nuhu, the Speaker of the Plateau State House Assembly, has been removed with immediate effect
- There are conflicting reports over the impeachment as one account claimed the speaker was impeached by 16 members while another put the number at eight
- Sanda Yakubu who represents the Pingana constituency was immediately elected as the new speaker
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Jos, Plateau state - The Speaker of the Plateau State House Assembly, Hon Abok Ayuba Nuhu, has been impeached.
Daily Trust reported the impeached speaker was swiftly replaced with Sanda Yakubu, who hails from the Pingana constituency of Bassa local government area of the state.
Source: Facebook
Legit.ng gathers that 16 out of the 24 members of the assembly voted in favour of the impeachment at the plenary on Thursday, October 28.
The Nation also reported that Nuhu was impeached after a vote of no confidence was passed on him.
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8 out of 24 members allegedly impeach Plateau speaker
Contrary to the Daily Trust's report, The Punch stated it was eight lawmakers (not 16) out of the 24-member assembly that carried out the impeachment.
The newspaper added that the lawmaker representing Rukuba/Irigwe constituency in the state House of Assembly, Musa Agah confirmed the development, describing the action of the lawmakers as “the height of illegality”.
Agah was quoted to have said:
“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.”
Insecurity: Plateau ex-speaker addresses alleged plan to impeach Governor Lalong
Meanwhile, the just impeached speaker, Nuhu, had earlier said there was no plan to impeach Governor Simon Lalong over current security challenges in the state.
The former speaker told newsmen in Jos that the House would continue to work with the governor to strengthen the security of lives and properties of residents in the state.
He emphasised there was no time the House planned to impeach the governor, saying the lawmakers only gave the governor a two-week ultimatum to speak out and give the people hope.
Lalong denies sealing off Plateau state assembly to stop impeachment
Similarly, Legit.ng had reported that the Plateau government reacted to the claims that Governor Lalong sealed off the state's House of Assembly to prevent the commencement of alleged impeachment processes against him.
There were reports that some armed security agents surrounded the Assembly's complex in case of violence that might ensue from continued calls for Lalong's impeachment.
However, the government denied claims that the security officers were sent by the governor to seal off the building on Monday, August 30. Denying the claims, the commissioner for information and communication, Dan Manjung, said they are false and should be disregarded.
Source: Legit.ng
