Crisis appears to be brewing at the Ebonyi State House of Assembly following the demand by members to impeach the Speaker, Francis Nwifuru, if he refuses to resign.
Nwifuru, who is also the governor-elect, has been the Speaker since 2015.
A document, titled, ‘Ebonyi Speaker under fire to resign or risk impeachment,’ signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Assembly, Mr Egede Sylvester, and obtained by our correspondent, said the members demanded the immediate resignation of Nwifuru and his deputy, Kingsley Ikoro, or they should face impeachment.
The document quoted the Majority Leader of the House, Victor Chukwu, as having spoken on behalf of his colleagues, saying, “The members of the House are no longer satisfied with the leadership of the House under the administration of Chief Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru and urge him to resign in his honour and for the betterment of the state Assembly and the state at large.”
“On his part, the Speaker, Chief Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, said he had duly listened to their plea and thanked them for baring their grievances, urging them to tread with caution for the peace and development of the state.”
However, sources among power brokers in the state disclosed to The PUNCH, that the brewing face-off in the House was not unconnected to an alleged demand by Governor Dave Umahi for the approval of a fresh N33bn loan by the Assembly.
It was learnt that Umahi wrote to the House, demanding an approval to borrow the money to enable him to complete certain projects before handing over on May 29, 2023.
A source said, “The House has approved the release of N6bn for the settlement of accumulated gratuities and pensions owed civil servants in the state since 2015 when Governor Umahi came into office.”
Reacting, the Speaker and Governor-elect , Nwifuru, said the only request from the executive arm of government was on remittances from the excess crude account.
“The request was for 60 per cent of the funds from the Excess Crude Account to be used to offset the state’s liabilities to the Federal Government. We duly approved the request and you did not hear anything about loans,” he said.
He also debunked the report that the Assembly members threatened him with impeachment if he did not resign to prepare for his swearing-in as governor on May 29.
“I did not hear such thing and do not know who told you about it. You should know that such report is fake. You should ask the Leader of the House and its Information Officer whom you claim told you such.”
Also, responding to the loan request, the Special Assistant to Governor David Umahi on Media and Strategy, Mr Chooks Okoh, said there was no official statement as regarding the development but that whatever the governor did had always been for the interest and development of the state.
