Abok was removed this morning as Plateau Assembly Speaker by APC lawmakers, who shut the door against their PDP colleagues
Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Nuhu Abok, has been impeached by eight members of the legislative arm of the government. The House of Assembly is made up of 24 members.
The member representing Pengana Constituency, Yakubu Sanda, was named as the new Speaker.
Abok was removed in the early hours of Thursday by the lawmakers from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who were escorted into the chambers amidst tight security.
Some security agents were stationed around the Assembly complex to prevent the remaining 16 members from gaining access into the complex.
Members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were prevented from entering the Assembly complex.
The lawmaker representing Rukuba/Irigwe constituency in the state House of Assembly, Musa Agah who confirmed the development to The PUNCH in Jos on Thursday described the action of the lawmakers as “the height of illegality”
Explaining how the Speaker was removed, Agah said, “It was this morning (Thursday) that some few members rushed to the Plateau state House of Assembly as early as 6 am. You know the state House of Assembly is made up of 24 members and the constitutional requirement for the removal of the Speaker is 2/3 majority which is 16 members.
A lawmaker representing Rukuba/Irigwe constituency in the state House of Assembly, Musa Agah, as quoted Punch Newspaper saying the action of the lawmakers who impeached Abok was “the height of illegality”
Agah said: “It was this morning (Thursday) that some few members rushed to the Plateau state House of Assembly as early as 6 am. You know the state House of Assembly is made up of 24 members and the constitutional requirement for the removal of the Speaker is 2/3 majority which is 16 members.
“So, eight lawmakers rushed to the Assembly this morning against the House rules that say that plenary commences from 9 am and even if there is going to be an extraordinary sitting, the Speaker is the one who is empowered to convene but that did not happen. When some of us got wind of what was happening, we rushed to the Assembly complex only to discover that Security operatives had barricaded everywhere. Some of us were stopped from gaining access to the Assembly complex while they also harassed others.