Plateau Assembly Crisis: Speaker Bars 16 PDP, APC Members From Resuming Legislative Duties
…I have a court injunction, says speaker
From Tongnaan Bawa, Jos
The Old Government House, venue of the sitting of the Plateau State House of Assembly on Tuesday witness a serious drama as the Speaker, Gabriel Dewan, said that for now only eight members will be allowed to resume legislative duties.
The House of Assembly on Tuesday resumed following a long recess after the Court of Appeal had sacked 16 members of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The members could not resume at the House of Assembly because it has been under renovation.
The sitting was only brief, but the speaker Who spoke to Journalists said that at present there are 32 members laying claim to the suit.
According to him, since the 32 members had their certificates of return and laying claim to their mandates, it would be unlawful to admit them into the chambers.
Moreover he said that he has a court injunction restraining him from inaugurating the APC members.
He said, “For now only eight members will be sitting. I have a court injunction restraining the House from inaugurating the 16 APC members. Yes they have their certificates of return issued to them by INEC, but they can’t be inaugurated until the final determination or vacation of the injunction.
“And, as you know, we are body responsible for lawmaking, not law interpretation. So, for now, I’m pleading that everybody should have to maintain status quo contemplate the petition of the court process, then next action will be taken but for now I’m constrained to see anything or to do anything contrary to the court process that are being served to me. That is the question for now.
“As you are aware, we are law abiding citizens of this country and this state. And we are lawmakers we are not supposed to be lawbreakers. And as you can see, we coordinate ourselves. We are harmonious in our approach. And we are cordial. And by that we agree Absolutely, with the position of the leadership of the Plateau State House of Assembly, and we abide by that challenge in a moment until then. Though he did not however disclosed who instituted the suit.
Indeed the atmosphere at Government House venue of the sitting was intense as the PDP lawmakers who had arrived for the day’s sitting as they vowed to do, stayed outside the gate with their supporters.
Spokesperson of the 16 sacked PDP Members, Ishaku Maren said they will stand for the injustice to be reversed, and based on the supreme Court judgement they will resumed back.
However, there was a strong smell of tear gas that engulfed the air. our correspondent gathered that it was not deliberate, but an accidental discharge of the tear gas that went off from one of the policemen.
Our correspondent reports that at the time of filing this story, the police had taken over the venue temporarily being used as venue for their sitting.
