Gov Emmanuel-led assault on State House of Assembly condemnable—Akwa Ibom APC state chairman
The governor of Akwa Ibom State has been criticized for leading a gang of thugs and military men to attack the State House of Assembly today Tuesday, 27 November 2018, in an attempt to impose his will on the house. Leveling the criticism on the governor in a press release in Uyo, the APC state chairman, Chief Ini 0kopido, said “the governor’s action was condemnable, shameful, embarrassing and totally unbecoming of the status of a state chief executive.”
Okopido described the attack on the State House of Assembly as “a direct assault on democracy, a violation the rule of law and an egregious affront to the principle of the separation of powers enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.”
The party chairman added that the governor is ill-advised.
Saying that Governor Emmanuel’s illegal action was a threat to peace and order in the state, Okopido advised him “to refrain from politically-motivated and ill-advised actions that could set the state on fire.”
For background, the state governor, Deacon Udom Emmanuel led PDP thugs to disrupt proceedings in the State House of Assembly today in an attempt to prevent the house from sitting. The government appeared to have acted on information that some of the lawmakers planned to suspend or remove the former leaders of the Assembly who are loyal to him.
The attempt by the governor to disrupt proceedings in the house failed and the assembly sat in plenary where the lawmakers under the leadership of the new speaker, Rt.Hon. Nse Ntuen, carried out their normal business of the day.
One of the actions the house took in plenary was the suspension of the former speaker, Hon. Onofiok Luke and 11 other members. The other members suspended till further notice are Udo Kerian Akpan, Felicia Bassey, Nse Essien, Lawrence Udofia, Usoro Akpanusoh, Ime Okon, Friday Iwok, Asuquo Archibong, Mark Esset, Emmanuel Ekpenyong, Aniekan Uko till further notice.
Okpido said it was regrettable that following the new developments in the house in which some members were suspended the state government mobilized thugs to lay siege to the State House of Assembly around which, he said, sporadic gun fire could be heard for most of the day.
The crisis in the State House of Assembly started on Monday last week when the former speaker, Onofiok Luke declared vacant the seats of six members of the house because they had decamped from the PDP to the APC. The former speaker’s action against the APC legislators was in spite of a subsisting court order restraining him from declaring those seats vacant.