Special Correspondent, TITUS OISE, looks at the unending crisis in Edo State House of Assembly and the current respite occasioned by adjournment of plenary by both factions.
There are two factions in Edo State House of Assembly, with two speakers. Correct! But for some time now, the combatants seem to be on break. Reason: The usual brickbat among the factional groups is no longer there owing to adjournment of plenary by both factions.
Festus Ebea
The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers led by their Speaker, Uyi Igbe, had adjourned plenary till Monday, September 8, 2014, having completed the first quarter, fourth session of the fifth Assembly. The other faction, that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers led by Festus Ebea, equally adjourned plenary till the same date. The ruling APC has 15 members while the PDP has nine in the Assembly.
Momoh as scapegoat
However, a mild drama played out during the groups’ last sittings before plenary was adjourned. On that fateful day, the Igbe-led faction of APC lawmakers, who now sit in Government House, declared the seat of Abdulrazak Momoh (representative of Etsako West I Constituency) vacant.
The speaker, who made the pronouncement during plenary, noted that the action became necessary owing to the improper manner of Momoh’s defection from APC to PDP. Igbe explained that the affected lawmaker was elected to the House on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2007, a party that later merged with other political parties to form the APC, stressing that the lawmaker did not resign his membership of the APC but participated in other activities of the APC.
The speaker, while citing section 109 (1g) of the Nigerian constitution as amended, stated that, “A member shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party, before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected”, noting that the section empowers the House to declare the seat vacant.
Thereafter, he called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a by-election to fill the vacant seat of Etsako West I constituency within 90 days, while also directing the Sergeant-at-arms and the State Committee on Protection of Government Properties to retrieve all government properties in the possession of the affected lawmakers and other suspended members.
The Igbe faction had earlier suspended four lawmakers while the Ebea group responded by suspending Igbe and four other APC legislators.
Shortly after the Igbe pronouncement, PDP lawmakers led by Ebea, in a parallel plenary held at the Assembly complex, equally declared the seat of Victor Edoroh (representing Esan Central constituency) vacant, owing to the improper manner of defection from PDP to APC. Ebea, in a retaliatory move went ahead to direct INEC to conduct a by-election to fill the vacant seat of Esan Central within 90 days.
INEC adamant
Based on the conflicting directives from the two factions, INEC has since rejected the directives to conduct by-election to fill seats declared vacant, it said that the commission takes directives from above, and not from the House of Assembly.
Advertorial wahala
Recently, crisis of confidence within the APC lawmakers was averted when one of its own, Paul Ohonbamu (representing Egor constituency) quickly denounced his involvement in an advertorial carried by a national newspaper on Monday, August 4, 2014 congratulating Tony Anenih, PDP leader, on his birthday. The picture of Ohonbamu was used alongside that of the PDP lawmakers. The advertorial read in part: “We the PDP caucus of the Edo State House of Assembly wish to congratulate and felicitate with you, our father, leader and mentor, Chief Tony Anenih, CFR, on this auspicious and wonderful occasion of your 81st birthday celebration.” Ohonbamu, the APC lawmaker, has denied involvement, stating that his colleagues in the PDP must have made a mistake, that he (Ohonbamu) remains a bona fide member of APC.
It was reliably gathered that since the publication of the “offensive” advertorial, the leadership of the ruling APC has been keeping tab on Ohonbamu, who, sources say, cannot readily be pinned down to any side of the divide.
A chieftain of the party, who pleaded anonymity, stated that, “that advertorial was a costly mistake. It’s not enough for you to come out and deny involvement. One would have expected a total reversal or retraction of the advertorial, but till now, nothing of such has happened.”
Apprehension over resumption
Meanwhile, the people of the state, who have enjoyed relative peace since both factions adjourned, are quite apprehensive now that the date for resumption of plenary draws near.
The tension is occasioned by the fact that whenever the PDP lawmakers sit, heavily-armed policemen ensure that all roads linking the House of Assembly are blocked and road-users made to trek long distances. The House of Assembly, where the Ebea group holds plenary, is situated on the Ring Road area, considered the busiest part of Benin City.
The question keen observers of the crisis have been asking is, will the peace of the state be breached again when both factions resume plenary?