Purportedly sacked Plateau Assembly speaker returns, suspends six lawmakers behind impeachment plot

Six members of the Plateau State House of Assembly were suspended on Thursday over a failed attempt to impeach the Assembly Speaker, Abok Ayuba.

Eight members of the 24-member legislature had claimed to have impeached Ayuba at about 6:00 a.m. on Thursday and replaced him with the lawmaker representing Pengana Constituency, Yakubu Sanda.

The speaker later presided over the plenary held outside the Assembly’s complex with the Mace in place and attended by 14 lawmakers.

The Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Philip Dasun, who moved the motion for the suspension of six lawmakers that carried out the illegal impeachment, said Section 92 of the 1999 subsection 2C had stipulated a clear procedure on how to impeach a speaker or a deputy speaker.

The motion was seconded by the House Minority Leader, Peter Gyendeng.

READ ALSO: Plateau Speaker impeached over corruption allegations

Dasun also moved a motion for vote confidence to be passed on Ayuba as the authentic speaker of the Plateau State Ninth House Assembly.

Dasun, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Communication, said that none of the procedures was followed by the members who allegedly impeached the speaker.

He said the members did not form quorum during the exercise, adding that they did not have a two-thirds majority required by law to impeach a speaker.

He said: “They went against 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.

“I, therefore, move that the six members that carried out the illegality be suspended till further notice.

“They 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).”

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