Reps march to Kogi Assembly with 10-man probe panel

The House of Representatives on Tuesday raised a 10 man panel to investigate the crisis rocking the Kogi State House of Assembly over the removal of the speaker, Momoh Jimoh Lawal, his Deputy, Aliyu Akuh and the Majority leader, Kolawole Matthew.

The committee, headed by Deputy Majority Whip, Pally Irase, APC, Edo, was given one week to report back to the House.

The decision of the House was predicated on a motion moved under matters of national importance Hon. Sunday Karimi, PDP, Kogi.

According to Karimi, what happened in the Kogi House of Assembly was an illegality.

“Section 92(2)(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 stipulates that the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of to the State Assembly shall vacate office if he is removed from office by a resolution of the House of Assembly by the votes of not less than two-third majority of the members.

“In Kogi State, there are a total number of 25 members of the State House of Assembly, but five of them had their elections nullified at the court of Appeal and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC is yet to conduct a fresh election in the state constituencies. Accordingly, only 20 members are currently validly elected in the House of Assembly and two-third of 20 is at least 13 members.”

Read also: Kogi lawmakers move to impeach deputy governor

Continuing, Karimi, quoting the remaining 15 members of the assembly, said Governor Yahaya Bello allegedly earlier threatened them to remove the Speaker, Alhaji Momoh Jimoh Lawal “and appoint his choice as the Speaker instead.”

The motion was unanimously supported by the likes of Femi Gbajabiamila, the Majority Leader of the House, Nnena Elendu- Ukeje, Rasak Atunwa, Sunday Adepoju, Tajudeen Yusuf and Edward Pwajok.

It would be recalled that 14 members of the Assembly loyal to the embattled speaker had stormed tje National Assembly and submitted a petition to the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara. The petition dated February 17, 2016, was titled: “Act of impunity by Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and five (5) members of the Kogi State House of Assembly.”

The Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, gave members of the committee one week within which to report back to the House so as to avert a constitutional crisis.

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