THE PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) says the 27 All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers at the Rivers House of Assembly can’t impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara, because they are no longer members of the House.
Mr Debo Ologunagba, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, said this at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ologunagba said that the directive by the state APC chapter for the lawmakers to commence impeachment proceedings against the governor was in vain.
He said that the APC lawmakers had since vacated their seats at the House, by virtue of Section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution.
“The lawmakers claiming to be APC members lost their seats after their defection from the PDP, the political party platform on which they were elected into the House.
“For emphasis, Section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution provides that: a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if … (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly 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.
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“It should be noted that Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution is self-executory. The import of this provision is that the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who defected, have vacated their seat by reason of that defection,” he said.
Ologunagba advised APC to come to terms with the fact that Rivers was home to PDP and that the people of the state were not ready to leave the party.
ALGON Says Impeachment In Order
Meanwhile, the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), River Chapter, says the call for the impeachment of Fubara is a step in the right direction.
The chairman, Mr Allwell Ihunda, said at a news conference in Port Harcourt on Wednesday that 21 local government chairmen in the state were in support of the call to impeach the governor
Ihunda, also the chairman, Port Harcourt City LGA, said that the call for Fubara’s impeachment was to safeguard democracy and the rule of law.
The ALGON chairman alleged that the governor did not release statutory allocations to the local government councils in April.
“We did not receive allocations in April, this development is a show of executive rascality on the part of the governor,” he said
He said that Fubara had refused to convene the Joint Account Allocation Committee meeting, which is the prerequisite for the release and disbursement of funds to the councils.
“The governor’s action is illegal. The state is at the verge of being plunged into totalitarianism,” he said.
Ihunda further said that Fubara had directed Heads of Local Government Administrations in the councils to present salary vouchers to his office directly.
“He wants salary vouchers and overheads of civil servants, excluding chairmen, vice chairmen, councilors and political appointees sent to his office,” he said.
“This action is unconstitutional. It is in contravention of Sections 3(6), 7 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution,” he said
The chairman urged the state House of Assembly to take appropriate steps towards checking the excesses of the governor to safeguard democracy in the state. (NAN)
