The Adamawa State House of Assembly was, on Tuesday, barricaded by protesters who stormed the state assembly to stop the alleged plans by the speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aminu Iya-Abass, to declare vacant the seat of a Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker.
The lawmaker from Michika Constituency, Ayuba Joseph, defected to the All Progressive Congress.
The PDP had enjoyed a razor-thin majority of 13 lawmakers against 12 from the opposition APC in the state. But the defection of Ayuba, announced on April 19, was suddenly brewing tension in the state.
Honourable Ayuba who addressed journalists at his residence after staying away from the day’s proceeding has accused Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of witch-hunting him, after, his avowed dislike of him.
He said the lawmakers wanted to use Tuesday sitting to declare his seat vacant, allegedly on the orders of the state governor.
However, the action of some irate youths thronged the state assembly, on Tuesday, with placards bearing inscriptions like ” We don’t want the governor”, ” Adamawa House of Assembly be warned” and ” Hon. Ayuba, we want to stop any move to suspend you” may have contributed in thwarting the plot allegedly being hatched of suspending the lawmaker.
It took reinforcement of mobile policemen to clear the protesters who had caused traffic gridlock and also temporarily rendered the Assembly complex inaccessible to the workers and some lawmakers who arrived later.
Speaking on his defection, the lawmaker, popularly known as ” De Police” said he quit the PDP because he no longer felt accommodated in the party. Listing some of the wrongs done to him, Hon. Ayuba said governor Fintiri gave PDP lawmakers, monies to purchase nomination and expression of interest forms for re-election but denied him.
He also said there was a deliberate effort by the governor not to carry him along in all appointments and recomposition of the party structures in Michika, his constituency.
He said, “All the activities of the PDP in Michika, they don’t contact me. For all the appointments from Michika, nobody ever contacted me before such appointments were given. Recently, he (Governor Fintiri) gave money to PDP lawmakers in the assembly to purchase forms, I was excluded. Yet he gave the lawmakers money but he refused to give me. This shows I am no longer important that is why I decided to quit and join the APC.”
He said he got the hint that the lawmakers wanted to declare his seat vacant.
He lamented he was being witch-hunted by the governor because he wasn’t the only member to have defected in the house.
“Musa Bororo defected from APC to PDP, likewise, Honourable Ibrahim Italia left the African Democratic Congress to the APC, nothing was done about that. So I don’t know their reason for wanting to declare my seat vacant,” he queried.
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
