Lawmaker condemns impeachment of Plateau Speaker

The lawmaker representing Rukuba/Irigwe constituency in the Plateau State House of Assembly, Musa Agah, has described the impeachment of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Abok Ayuba, by eight members as “the height of illegality”.

He lamented that on Thursday a few out of the 24 members rushed to the Assembly as early as 6 am and impeached the Speaker.

He explained, “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.”

He questioned how eight lawmakers rushed to the Assembly against the House rules that say that plenary commences from 9 am, adding that 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.

The lawmaker lamented, “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.”

He further explained that while the confusion was going on, the eight members passed a vote of no confidence on the Speaker and went ahead to purportedly remove him.

It was recalled that there was confusion at the Plateau State House of Assembly early Thursday following the removal of Abok.

Abok Ayuba is a first-term lawmaker who represents Jos East state constituency in the Plateau State House of Assembly.

The former Speaker, Abok Ayuba was immediately replaced by the lawmaker representing Pengana constituency, Yakubu Sanda of the All Progressives Congress (APC).