Kogi lawmakers desert state capital after impeachment saga

Many lawmakers from Kogi State on Friday deserted Lokoja, the state capital, after an impeachment saga.A member of the All Progressives Congress representing Ibaji State Constituency, who is also

the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Orientation, Mr. John Abah, told journalists on Thursday that 17 out of the 25 members of the House had impeached their Speaker, Mr. Momoh Lawal, and other principal officers.

He claimed that he was elected Deputy Speaker and that a member representing Ogori/Magongo State Constituency, Mr. Godwin Ojo, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, was elected the new Speaker.He said that Mr. Linus Eneche, an APC member, was elected as the new Minority Leader.

Abah claimed that the House had adjourned sitting till December 16.

Lawal, however, refuted the impeachment claim, saying that he was still in charge of the Assembly.

According to him, the impeachment moves against him could not stand because due process was not followed.

Investigations by our correspondent on Friday revealed that most of the lawmakers had left the state capital, fuelling various speculations among the residents over the state’s political outlook.

Meanwhile, a former Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Mr. Abdullahi Bello, has urged the legislators to sheathe their swords, adding that the state was in need of peace and not political struggle.

He urged them to resolve their differences amicably and let the situation return to what it was before the impeachment saga.

He also called on all the legislators to cooperate with the incoming state governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello, to enable him to improve the welfare of residents and fulfill the promises of the APC.

He added that peace was necessary to assist the outgoing administration of Capt. Idris Wada to successfully hand over to Bello, adding that legislators should have been patient with Lawal till Bello was sworn in as governor if they thought he was incompetent.

He said, “I think the impeachment is not coming at the right time. It is coming at a time that we have just completed an election and the time that we lost one of our political icons, Prince Abubakar Audu. We are still mourning and there should be transition to a new government. So the impeachment did not come at a good time. We need peace in the state now.

“Having political fights now in the state may not be the right development. It will send a bad signal of the state to the outside community. The incoming government needs peace to settle down and not to inherit a House that appears to be factionalised. I suggest that they should return to status quo ante.”

punch