Drama of how assembly served Gov Chime impeachment notice

The drama that played out at the Enugu State House of Assembly Monday morning leading to the service of impeachment notice on the state governor, Sullivan Chime was like a major scene from a hitherto slow running soap opera.

It opened with a group of 15 lawmakers, led by Speaker, Eugene Odoh, commencing the process of impeaching Chime over what they described as alleged gross misconduct.

Their action was immediately countered by a group of nine lawmakers led by the Deputy Speaker, Chime Oji, who not only announced the impeachment of the speaker, Odoh and sacking of the Majority Leader, S.K.E. Ude-Okoye but also suspended them along with seven other members.

Apart from electing a new speaker, Hon. Chinedu Nwamba, the group of nine lawmakers also appointed, Hon. Donatus Uzoagbado and Hon. Emeka Ogbuabo as the new Majority Leader and Chief Whip respectively. They then went ahead to recall Hon. Johnbul Nwagu who was suspended by the House about two weeks earlier, while also de-freezing the accounts of the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB) which was frozen by the assembly two weeks ago.

But at an earlier sitting which commenced at about 6:28a.m, the group of 15 lawmakers who had a tough time trying to gain entrance to the assembly complex having been stopped at the gate by a team of policemen, directed the Clerk of the assembly, Christopher Chukwurah, to serve Governor Chime the notice of impeachment.

They accused the governor of allegedly forging the 2012 supplementary budget running into billions. Other impeachable offences listed against the governor included the alleged inflation of the contract sum for the construction of the new state secretariat complex from N13 billion to N21 billion without recourse to the House of Assembly, award of the contract to Arab Contractors Limited even when another contractor submitted a lower bid, as well as using the police to deny the lawmakers’ access to the assembly for their sitting on Monday.

They also suspended three members including the Deputy Speaker, Oji, who was recently elected to represent Enugu North/South Federal Constituency, Hon. Emeka Ogbuabor and Deputy House Leader, John Ukuta, for alleged anti-assembly activities.

The lawmakers had complained that the governor was using some legislators to disrupt the activities of the assembly and undermine their interest following their refusal to approve the N11 billion loan requested by the governor.

However, the mace was taken away after Odoh adjourned sitting of the assembly to Tuesday.

But at 7.05a.m., the G-9 led by the Deputy Speaker and other members of the assembly including the state Deputy Governor-elect, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, walked into the chamber with another mace and conducted their own sitting.

When the were done, the assembly adjourned indefinitely and directed the police and Department of State Security (DSS) to ensure that nobody was allowed into the assembly complex until further notice.

Meanwhile, state PDP chairman, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, has endorsed the emergence of Nwamba as the new Speaker of the state assembly.

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