THERE is apprehension in Plateau State following the insistence of the current Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Honourable Gabriel Dewan to adjourn the sitting of the House till January next year amid moves to inaugurate the newly declared 16 All Progressives Congress (APC) members this week....CONTINUE READING
Dewan also declared that the new members are not yet part of the assembly because they had not presented their Certificate of Return usually issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to him. According to the speaker, they can only become bona fide members when they write to him through the office of the clerk of the Assembly.
But in a spontaneous reaction, state chapter of the APC said the Assembly is not the personal property of the speaker. Recall that the Court of Appeal Abuja Division recently sacked 16 members of the Assembly elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for lack of political structure and alleged disobedience to a court order.
Dewan, only member elected on the platform of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), was made speaker of the Assembly at the threshold of the sacking of PDP lawmakers by the court. The action of Dewan is being perceived by the main opposition, APC as a ploy to prevent the inauguration of its members after the court declared the winner of the general election.
A new member of the Assembly, who prayed to not to be identified, told th Nigerian Tribune that the leadership of the APC in the state, alongside the new members had approached the security agencies and other relevant authorities ahead of the inauguration slated for this week.
Worried by the unfolding development, the current speaker, in a signed statement, categorically declared that he would not swear in the new members until January 23, 2024 after a two-month recess by the Assembly.
The speaker, who debunked the alleged conspiracy theory surrounding the adjournment of the Assembly, clarified that he did not close the house purposely to prevent the swearing-in of the incoming members,
He said he had the legal authority to adjourn the house.
“The house adjourned the plenary till January 23rd, when there was no court verdict yet, making the present members legitimate to decide on any motion. “During the last sitting, a motion to adjourn plenary till January 23rd was moved and seconded without any contrary opinion.
“The house’s resolution has become a legal document. All present members agreed to return to their constituencies and engage with their constituents. “So, any insinuation claiming that the house was closed to stop the swearing-in of the new members is not true.
“What I know is that even when the house made the decision, there were no new members. As a speaker, I was unaware that the PDP members would be sacked. So, plenary was adjourned three days before the judgment came.
“As far as I am concerned as the speaker, the new members are not yet part of my assembly because they have not presented their certificate of return to me.
“They will become my members only when they write to me through the office of the clerk. After that, I will invite them and officially inform them that the house is on recess and ask them to return when the house reconvenes.
“This has happened in many places, including the National Assembly. The house cannot interrupt its recess just because new members have arrived. “It’s not done that way anywhere. It was the resolution of the house, adopted and now a legal document. I cannot go against that, “ Dewan said.
Reacting to the statement of the speaker, the publicity secretary of the APC in the state, Mr Slyvanus Namang cautioned against any illegal act that could heighten tension. He also warned that the Assembly was not the property of the speaker and as such, has no right to delay the inauguration of the APC members till January.
Namang said: “The speaker should know that under normal circumstances he is not supposed to be the Speaker because as of the time he was elected there were other six members of APC in the House. “So, he was not legitimately elected and therefore cannot stop the inauguration of the 16 APC members.
“This still boils down to the illegality of the PDP we are talking about and that led the party to where it is at the moment. I want to categorically declare that the new members will be inaugurated as soon as they receive their certificates of returns.”
It was learnt that that the new APC members may be issued their certificates of returns on Wednesday this week by the NEC) in the state.
