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abujagirl
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The Ebonyi State House Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution declaring the seats of four members vacant for defection.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 24-member assembly has 23 PDP elected members and one All Progressive Congress (APC) member.
The assembly is currently factionalised with 14 members supporting the speaker and 10 supporting the deputy speaker.
The 10 lawmakers loyal to the Deputy Speaker Deputy Speaker, Chief Blaise Orji, all defected to Labour Party but only four of them were affected by the resolution.
Chief Chukwuma Nwazunku, Speaker of the House while reading the resolution, said that the affected members violated section 109; sub section 1(g) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) by defecting to another political party without following the stipulated constitutional provisions.
“The affected members Chief Eni Uduma-Chima (PDP-Afikpo South West), Mr Sam Nwali (PDP-Ikwo North) Mrs Helen-Nwaobashi (PDP-Abakaliki South) and Mrs Mabel Aleke (PDP-Ohaukwu South).
“They defected to another party without due consultation with the party under which they were elected and constitutional provisions guiding defection to parties.
“Their action brings the integrity of the House into disrepute; the declaration of their seats vacant takes effect from Feb.11, 2015.
“We, therefore, inform the state Commissioner of Police, State Security Service, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant agencies, of the matter for appropriate actions to be taken,” he said.
Meanwhile the assembly has also threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on the principal officers of local government areas in the state, the state commissioners for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters and Finance, among others, if they failed to appear before it at its next plenary.
Moving a motion on the matter, Mr Frank Onwe (PDP--Ohaukwu North) noted that that the affected officers were expected to appear before the assembly to explain the ``financial rot'' in the state local government system.
Chief Chukwuma Enyi (APC--Ezza North-West) seconded the motion.
Commenting further, he claimed that local government funds were now diverted into private accounts by the officials for personal purposes.
In a swift reaction, the faction loyal to the Deputy Speaker, Chief Blaise Orji, described the vacation of the seats as illegal, noting that the matter was pending before a Federal High Court in Abakaliki.
The faction’s spokesperson, Chief Eni Uduma-Chima, noted that section 109 sub section 1 (g) of the 1999 constitution as amended, stipulates that a member of the House of Assembly shall vacate his seat, if being sponsored by a political party and becomes a member of another party before the expiration of the period for which he was elected.
“This is provided that his membership of the latter party is not as a result of division in the party of which he was previously a member or merger of two or more political parties by one of which he was previously sponsored.
“The legislators are acting in bad faith; otherwise they could had declared the seats of Chief Chukwuma Enyi and Joseph Nwobashi vacant, having being elected under the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and are now in the All Progressive Congress (APC),” he said.
He noted that the purported declaration of the seats vacant would mean the end of activities of the fourth Ebonyi Assembly until a bye-election was conducted.
“The provision of section 91 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) stipulates that a House of Assembly of a state shall consist of not less than 24 members and not more than 40 members.
“This means that technically, the House has come to an end because only 20 persons would then be members of the Ebonyi House of Assembly,'' he said.
#Ebonyi
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 24-member assembly has 23 PDP elected members and one All Progressive Congress (APC) member.
The assembly is currently factionalised with 14 members supporting the speaker and 10 supporting the deputy speaker.
The 10 lawmakers loyal to the Deputy Speaker Deputy Speaker, Chief Blaise Orji, all defected to Labour Party but only four of them were affected by the resolution.
Chief Chukwuma Nwazunku, Speaker of the House while reading the resolution, said that the affected members violated section 109; sub section 1(g) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) by defecting to another political party without following the stipulated constitutional provisions.
“The affected members Chief Eni Uduma-Chima (PDP-Afikpo South West), Mr Sam Nwali (PDP-Ikwo North) Mrs Helen-Nwaobashi (PDP-Abakaliki South) and Mrs Mabel Aleke (PDP-Ohaukwu South).
“They defected to another party without due consultation with the party under which they were elected and constitutional provisions guiding defection to parties.
“Their action brings the integrity of the House into disrepute; the declaration of their seats vacant takes effect from Feb.11, 2015.
“We, therefore, inform the state Commissioner of Police, State Security Service, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant agencies, of the matter for appropriate actions to be taken,” he said.
Meanwhile the assembly has also threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on the principal officers of local government areas in the state, the state commissioners for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters and Finance, among others, if they failed to appear before it at its next plenary.
Moving a motion on the matter, Mr Frank Onwe (PDP--Ohaukwu North) noted that that the affected officers were expected to appear before the assembly to explain the ``financial rot'' in the state local government system.
Chief Chukwuma Enyi (APC--Ezza North-West) seconded the motion.
Commenting further, he claimed that local government funds were now diverted into private accounts by the officials for personal purposes.
In a swift reaction, the faction loyal to the Deputy Speaker, Chief Blaise Orji, described the vacation of the seats as illegal, noting that the matter was pending before a Federal High Court in Abakaliki.
The faction’s spokesperson, Chief Eni Uduma-Chima, noted that section 109 sub section 1 (g) of the 1999 constitution as amended, stipulates that a member of the House of Assembly shall vacate his seat, if being sponsored by a political party and becomes a member of another party before the expiration of the period for which he was elected.
“This is provided that his membership of the latter party is not as a result of division in the party of which he was previously a member or merger of two or more political parties by one of which he was previously sponsored.
“The legislators are acting in bad faith; otherwise they could had declared the seats of Chief Chukwuma Enyi and Joseph Nwobashi vacant, having being elected under the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and are now in the All Progressive Congress (APC),” he said.
He noted that the purported declaration of the seats vacant would mean the end of activities of the fourth Ebonyi Assembly until a bye-election was conducted.
“The provision of section 91 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) stipulates that a House of Assembly of a state shall consist of not less than 24 members and not more than 40 members.
“This means that technically, the House has come to an end because only 20 persons would then be members of the Ebonyi House of Assembly,'' he said.
#Ebonyi