The PUNCH reports that the 24-member assembly dominated by Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers had adjourned plenary till January.
However, three days later, the Court of Appeal sacked all the 16 PDP lawmakers in the state and declared candidates of the All Progressives Congress winners of the elections conducted in their various constituencies.
Addressing the allegation that the House was closed to prevent the newly declared lawmakers from resuming, the Speaker, Gabriel Dewan, who was elected on the platform of Young Progressives Party, in a statement clarified that he did not close the House purposely to prevent the swearing-in of incoming members.
The Speaker insisted that he had the legal authority to adjourn the House plenary.
The Speaker said, “The House adjourned plenary till January 23 when there was no court verdict, making the present members legitimate to decide on any motion.
“During the last sitting, a motion to adjourn plenary till January 23 was moved and seconded without any contrary opinion. The House’s resolution has become a legal document. All present members agreed to return to their constituencies and engage with their constituents.
“So, any insinuation claiming that the House was closed to stop the swearing-in of the new members is not true. What I know is that even when the House made the decision, there were no new members. As the Speaker, I was unaware that the PDP members would be sacked. So, the plenary was adjourned three days before the judgment came.
“As far as I am concerned as the Speaker, the new members are not yet part of my Assembly because they have not presented their certificates of return to me. They will become my members only when they write to me through the Office of the Clerk. After that, I will invite them and officially inform them that the House is on recess and ask them to return when the House reconvenes.
“This has happened in many places, including the National Assembly. The House cannot interrupt its recess just because new members have arrived. It’s not done that way anywhere. It was the resolution of the House, adopted, and now a legal document. I cannot go against that.
Reacting to the Speaker, the State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Slyvanus Namang, cautioned against any illegal act by the Speaker that might lead to the breakdown of law and order, adding that the House is not the property of the Speaker and, therefore, has no right to delay the inauguration of the 16 members till January next year.
“The Speaker should know that under normal circumstances, he is not supposed to be the Speaker because, as of the time he was elected, there were other six members of the APC in the House. So, he was not legitimately elected and, therefore, cannot stop the inauguration of the 16 APC members,” he said.
