A member representing Obingwa East State Constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly, Chief Solomon Akpulonu, has tasked the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Emmanuel Emeruwa, to obey the rules of the House, which stipulate that the majority party shall occupy the majority positions in the Assembly.
Emeruwa had, during plenary on Tuesday, accused Akpulonu of ‘granting interviews to journalists over the affairs of the House without clearance from the leadership’ and announced his suspension for 14 sitting days, as reported by MUK TV.
The House has been embroiled in crisis since the Speaker announced Hon. Uchenna Okoro, of the minority Labour Party, as the majority leader of the House. The PDP, led by Akpulonu, has been staging walkouts during sittings over the situation.
In an interview with Vanguard, Akpulonu advised the speaker to comply with the rules of the House and allow the PDP to produce the majority. PDP to produce the majority leader, deputy majority leader, chief whip, and deputy chief whip positions.
The PDP lawmaker, who is a former majority leader of the House, explained that he is the highest ranking member in the House and would not sit by and allow rules to be violated, and vowed that he would not be intimidated by anybody from expressing his rights, which are protected by the Nigerian constitution.
His words: “Let the speaker do the right by obeying the laws and rules of the House. The Abia State House of Assembly can’t operate in isolation. Let the speaker reach out to his colleagues nationwide or consult his predecessors like Sir Stanley Ohajuruka, Chief Agwu U. Agwu, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu, and Engr. Chinedum Orji; till guide him on how to ensure peace in the House. We have the rules of the house, which stipulate who occupies which position in the House. The problem is that the Labour Party, which is the minority party in the House, wants to take the position of the PDP, which is the majority party. And the PDP won’t allow its rightful positions to be taken away. It appears that the Labour Party and the Speaker are afraid of my name as a principal officer of the House. If my name is the problem in the nominations, I have pleaded with my party to nominate another lawmaker to serve if that will bring peace and make the speaker read out the list from the PDP leadership. Let the PDP occupy its rightful majority position.
“I’m not worried by the suspension; that’s the price I have to pay for the right thing to be done. I only want the right thing to be done. The PDP has submitted the names of those it nominated for the majority party, but the speaker has refused to read out the names. There is no way the majority party can overnight become the minority party in the House; we won’t accept that.
“Having served under former governors of the state, including Senator Orji Kalu, Senator Theodore Orji, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, and now Gov. Alex Otti, I’m aware of my rights and privileges as an experienced lawmaker. No law states that journalists cannot seek an interview with a lawmaker over a contentious issue in the House, especially when the rights of my party are being denied. I don’t need to get approval from anybody before speaking against injustice because I only want things done right. What I did was within the ambit of the law. The PDP lawmakers have never fought anyone; we have always done our agitations peacefully. So, there was no basis for my suspension.
“Unfortunately, the Speaker has started on the wrong side; he has to note that a lawmaker or party has the right to agitate provided it is within the ambit of the law. Some members of the PDP and Labour Party have gone ranted interviews without getting clearance from the leadership House. So, it appears there are other issues over my suspension that the speaker has yet to disclose. I have also heard rumors that I was suspended because I’m fighting Governor Alex Otti. Those who say I’m fighting the Governor are missing the point. I’m not fighting anybody; I can’t fight a governor, but I want him to govern Abia in peace. I only want the peace and development of my state because if the House of Assembly is in turmoil, there won’t be any development.”
In the composition of the House, the PDP has 11 members and the LP has 10, while the YPP has 2 and the APC has 1 in the 24-member Assembly.
