The Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Mr Eugene Odo, has described his purported impeachment by the nine-man faction of the lawmakers as legislative recklessness and impunity.
Odo told the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday that he was still the speaker of the Assembly.
He noted that the action of the Chinedu Nwamba group was illegal, unknown to law and unknown to democracy.
“The status quo remains. I am still the speaker. It is only two-thirds of the 24 lawmakers that can impeach or suspend the speaker and only eight of them cannot suspend or impeach the speaker.
“It is true that they formed a quorum but a quorum cannot impeach the speaker,’’ Odo said.
He said he was being persecuted for not signing a forged supplementary appropriation for 2012, which the governor allegedly wanted him and the Clerk of the Assembly to sign in 2015.
Odo claimed that the document had no records in the proceedings of the Assembly.
The speaker said the crisis started when the lawmakers declined to sign the N11bn loan sought by the governor less than 60 days to the end of his tenure.
“The governor surreptitiously called some members and gave them N2m each to impeach the Speaker,’’ he alleged.
According to him, one of the lawmakers, who felt that the impeachment was against his conscience, pulled out, leaving only eight of them.
The speaker said the Assembly would resume its plenary session on Tuesday.
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