……suspends members who impeached him
By Ubong Sampson
The recent crisis in the Plateau state house of assembly has taken a fresh dimension, as embattled Speaker Nuhu Abok Ayuba, Thursday, presided over a plenary held outside the assembly complex.
Eight members of the 24-member legislature had purportedly impeached Ayuba on Thursday morning.
At the sitting which was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Saleh Yipmong, the members elected Yakubu Sanda (APC-Pengana) as the new speaker. The sitting however, had only eight out of the 24 members of the assembly.
It was gathered that the eight members gained entrance into the house before 6.am, while security operatives denied other lawmakers access to the chambers.
The rumours of the impeachment have been making rounds since last week.
However, later same day at Ayuba’s plenary which had the mace placed on a musical keyboard stand, six of the eight lawmakers who impeached him earlier in the day, were suspended.
Mr Philip Dasun, Deputy Majority (APC, Pankshin South) had moved a motion for the suspension of six of the eight members that carried out what he described as an illegal impeachment.
Dasun said that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Section 92, subsection 2C, stipulates a clear procedure on how to impeach a speaker or a deputy speaker.
The deputy majority leader who is also the House Committee Chairman on Information and Communication, said none of the procedures was followed by the members who allegedly impeached the speaker.
Dasun also claimed the members did not form a quorum to sit and that they did not have a two-third majority required by law to impeach the speaker.
He said the eight members contravened Section 92(2c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Order 7 rule 14 of Standing Orders of the Plateau State House of Assembly.
He therefore moved that the six members that carried out what he referred to as illegality, be suspended till further notice.
He mentioned the members to include, Baba Hassan (APC, Jos North North), Saleh Yipmwang (APC, Dengi), Daniel Naanlong (APC, Mikang), Eric Dakogol (APC, Quanpan North), Mohammed Ballo (APC, Quanpan South) and Yakubu Sanda (APC, Pengana)”.
Peter Gyendeng (PDP) of Barkin Ladi Constituency and Minority Leader of the Assembly, seconded Dasun’s motion.
Dasun also moved a motion for a vote of confidence to be passed on Ayuba as the authentic speaker of the 9th Plateau State House Assembly.
He challenged those who claimed to have collected 16 signatures required by law to impeach the speaker to make the document public.
The motion was again seconded by Gyendeng affirming the lawmakers’ support for Ayuba.
Ayuba while speaking with newsmen after the sitting said they had been standing for the people of Plateau and for the truth.
“We will continue to stand for justice, we will stand for the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we will stand for democracy,” he added.
