Impeachment: N’Assembly may take over Kogi Assembly

There were indications on Thursday that
the House of Representatives might
invoke constitutional provisions for the
National Assembly to take over the Kogi
State House of Assembly, owing to the
brewing crisis in the state assembly.
Investigations showed that both the
majority All Progressives Congress and
the leading opposition Peoples
Democratic Party caucuses in the House
of Representatives began discussions on
Thursday on how to prevent a possible
breach of peace in Kogi State.
Tension had mounted in the state since
Monday after five out of the 20 members
of the House announced the
‘impeachment’ of the Speaker, Momoh
Jimoh-Lawal.
The five also sacked the Deputy Speaker
Mr. Alih Ajuh, and the Majority Leader,
Mr. Kolawole Matthew.
But on Wednesday, Jimoh-Lawal and 14
of his colleagues protested the “illegality”
of the impeachment by filing a petition at
the House of Representatives in Abuja.
The petition was submitted to the
Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Femi
Gbajabiamila, for transmission to the
Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara.
Findings indicated that the petition would
be formally laid before the House on
Tuesday next week.
“What the House is going to do is to
prevent a possible breach of law and
order in Kogi State.
“From what we have heard, the crisis will
deepen and the House has a
responsibility to invoke our laws to
contain the situation before it gets out of
hands,” a senior National Assembly
official told The PUNCH on Thursday.
The official noted that “the 1999
Constitution (as amended) under its
general provisions in Chapter One”, made
a provision for how the National
Assembly could intervene whenever any
state assembly was in crisis and could not
perform its duties.
Meanwhile, fourteen out of 20 members
of Kogi State House of Assembly have
summoned Governor Yahaya Bello to
appear before the House.
The 14 members are said to be loyalists of
the allegedly impeached Speaker of Kogi
State House of Assembly, Mr. Momoh
Lawal.
The governor is to explain reasons why he
sent permanent secretaries, directors,
accountants, cashiers of parastatals,
agencies, ministries and council areas on
compulsory leaves.