PDP Lawmakers in Ebonyi Assembly Berate APC

From Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki

The member representing Ebonyi North West State Constituency, Chief Victor Umuoke Aleke and his PDP counterparts, have berated the sacked Speaker of the House, Chief Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru and his colleagues in APC, for declaring their seats vacant over the allegation that they tendered a resignation letter to the House.

This is coming on the heels of alleged resignation of Chief Aleke and two other House members, which led to the purported declaration of their seats vacant on Tuesday, by the said sacked Speaker and his cohorts in the APC.

Aleke described the Tuesday sitting by the former Speaker and his colleagues in the APC, who were recently sacked by the Abuja Federal High Court as illegal, invalid and contempt of court. He further stated that the purported declaration of his vacant was a clear demonstration of the ongoing mess surrounding the legislature arm of the present state government, following the leadership of the House.

Recall that Chief Victor Aleke and the two other members including Chief Mrs. Franca Okpo representing Abakaliki North State Constituency and Chief Okechukwu Ali representing Ishielu North State Constituency are staunch members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Ebonyi State.

However, the member representing Ishielu North Constituency and the Chairman House Committee on Information, Hon. Chukwu Arinze Lukas said the three Honorable members resigned and the House has to declare their seats vacant, saying that the INEC would conduct a fresh election to replace them.

He also alleged that the three lawmakers tendered their resignation letters before the House, while briefing newsmen at the premises of the State House of Assembly, Abakaliki.

Also, in a release by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the House, Mr. Leo Ekene Oketa, stated that his Principal, Chief Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, on Tuesday, received the letters from the three (3) Members of the State Assembly, notifying the House of their resignation as Honorable Members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly. 

“Reading the letters at the floor of the House during Plenary Tuesday, March 15, 2022, Speaker Nwifuru revealed through the letters, that the three (3) Members resigned their seats after due consultations with their families, stakeholders and political associates. According to their letters which were all dated November 15, 2021, their resignations will avail them ample time to pursue other endeavors in their lives. 

“Following the developments, the House accepted the letters as working documents and declared the seats of Abakaliki North, Ishielu North and Ebonyi North-West State Constituencies, vacant. The Honorable Speaker directed the clerk of the House to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the development, for further actions as specified by law. 

“Having done justice to all there were in the order paper for the day, the House proceeded on a 3 months recess,” the release read in parts.

But Hon Aleke maintained that the three PDP members in the House, never tendered any resignation letter before the House, adding that the issues between PDP House members and that of APC are still in the court and further described the APC members’ sitting as illegal and total legislative mess which is tantamount to the contempt of court.

Lending her voice, Chief Mrs. Franca Okpo said that any action carried out on the floor of the House by their sacked colleagues remains illegal, invalid and contempt of Court.
She recalled that 16 sacked members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, including the Erstwhile Speaker, Rt. Hon. Francis Nwifuru sat last Tuesday and purportedly declared more seats of the PDP lawmakers vacant including her own.
Mrs. Okpo stressed that “the sacked members are no longer members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly until stated otherwise by a competent Court of law.”
In a statement signed by the member representing Abakaliki North constituency, Hon. Mrs. Franca Okpo, on behalf of her colleagues, the lawmaker emphasized that the sacked members of the House of Assembly lacked both the moral and constitutional powers to declare their seats vacant.
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had on the 8th day of March 2022 sacked 16 members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, including the erstwhile Speaker Rt. Hon Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC in the State.
According to Okpo, “My attention has been drawn to online publications by sacked members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, purporting that I, Hon. Mrs. Franca Okpo representing Abakaliki North constituency, Hon. Victor Aleke representing Ebonyi North West Constituency and Hon Okechukwu Ali representing Ishielu North constituency resigned our positions and as a result, our seats were declared vacant.
“It is therefore surprising to hear that duly sacked members of the house sat illegally and declared the seats of authentic members of the House vacant.
“It’s on record that after the Federal High Court judgement, that the erstwhile Speaker in his live broadcast together with the other sacked members claimed to have accepted it in good faith, not like they had another option though.
“You may wish to recall that the former Speaker also stated that they have applied for a stay of execution. And up till now, no stay of execution has been granted by any competent court.
“I urge you all to remain calm as any action allegedly done by them is not only invalid abnitio as neither of them possesses the power to do so, but also amounts to contempt of court and forgery and won’t be taken likely.” 

Recalled that the House declared the seats of the Deputy speaker and some members vacant for defecting to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party from the PDP, alleging that they resigned a few weeks ago.