The political drama in Kogi State House of Assembly continued yesterday as the new leadership, widely believed to be Governor Wada’s loyalists, suspended two honourables in the Hon. Abdullahi Bello’s camp.
With this suspension, the Wada boys now have 12 members while Bello’s camp has been reduced to 11.
The suspended members are Henry Ojuola and Funsho Daniel representing Mopamuro and Yagba East respectively. They were purportedly suspended for defecting to another political party.
Both men were suspended following a petition from the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) declaring their positions vacant for leaving the party under which they won elections into the assembly.
Speaker of the House of Assembly, Honourable Momoh Lawal Jimoh, told the assembly at its resumed sitting that about two months ago, the former leadership of the assembly was informed by the ANPP leadership about the defection.
According to the ANPP letter dated October 20, and signed by Patrick Daudu and Isaac Ainoko, chairman and secretary of the party respectively, the grounds for which they seek that the two seats be declared vacant included the violation of section 109(1)(g) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Honourable Ojuola was elected on the platform of the ANPP but served as running mate in the governorship election in the state under the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) while Honourable Daniel defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in September.
A three-man ad hoc committee was constituted by the assembly to investigate the ANPP allegation.
Tuesday’s session was held in the presence of the Clerk of the House of Assembly as well as the Sergeant-at-Arms.
The assembly also condemned the action of the Kogi State Police Commisioner who was accused of sealing off the assembly premises, adding that it would make an official report to the office of the Inspector General of Police.
