National chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has asked the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to seal off the Bauchi State House of Assembly.
On Wednesday, two factional Speakers emerged on the floor of the state Parliament, with 11 lawmakers loyal to the Bauchi State governor, Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), electing Hon Abubakar Suleiman Ningi as Speaker of the Assembly in the early hours of the day.
Later on, 20 lawmakers in the 31-member Parliament elected Hon Kawuwa Shehu Damina as Speaker and Tukur Ahmed, the member representing Toro constituency as Deputy Speaker.
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Tribune Online findings revealed that 19 members were elected on the platform of APC while the New Nigeria Peoples Party has a member, Jamilu Umar Dahiru, the only NNPP member, representing Bauchi Central constituency.
Further checks revealed that the ruling party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has since poached two members increasing their members to 13.
Addressing the gathering of APC lawmakers from Bauchi State led by factional Speaker, Honourable Damina who led his colleagues to the party national Secretariat to formally present their case, Comrade Oshiomhole said he has since briefed President Muhammdu Buhari on the need to forestall breakdown of law and order in Bauchi state.
Apparently faulting the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Habu Sani Ahmadu, whose men fired teargas canisters to disperse the 20 lawmakers, the APC chairman said it was a shame “if the police provide security for any illegal act.”
He disclosed that he had equally met with the IGP and would formally write a letter to demand that the State Assembly be secured and open only to the majority of the members of the House.
He faulted: “The attempt by the Governor of Bauchi State to illegally resort to nocturnal tactics at nocturnal hours to inaugurate the House.”
Addressing the lawmakers, Oshiomhole said:-
“I have briefed the President in full having met with you earlier when you shared with me the details. I have had a conversation with the Governor so I have all the facts. We members of NWC have met with the IGP after deliberating on the issues.
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We will prevail on him to ensure that the police do not provide security for an illegal act. Because the worse form of robbery is political robbery, it is worse than robbing people of their property.
“There is no way the PDP can produce the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and other principal officers.
If the Governor insists, then he is inviting trouble for himself. He should have said he is vacating the Government House, until the determination of his case. If he had submitted to the rule of law I don’t think Governor Bala Muhammed with all due respect, would have no choice than to submit himself and the PDP in Bauchi to rule of law.
“I assure you on behalf of APC that we stand by the statement we made yesterday that the purported election organised under cover with illegal use of the Nigerian Police to install a puppet against the wish of the majority of the members cannot stand and it will not stand by God’s grace.
“We will fight it to its logical conclusion and we will prevail on the police to provide enforcement for the rule of law, we are not asking for any partisan support.
The parliament must be secured because that is the business of the police and security agencies to secure lives and property. The parliament is the property of the people of Bauchi State. They must ensure it is used for the purpose for which it was built, which is for which is law making not for the Governor to lock up the place.”
Commenting on a similar development in Edo State where nine lawmakers elected Speaker in a 24-member parliament, the former Edo State governor said he was ashamed of development in his home state under Governor Godwin Obaseki.
“Unfortunately, the situation in Bauchi is also similar to the one that is happening in Edo State, I am ashamed to talk about it but there is nothing to hide. We have a similar situation in Edo, where in our own case we have 24/24 all of them APC but somebody wants a particular person as a Speaker, 19 out of 24 are opposed to this person.
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They then decided to carry six members into the house who were willing, while they invited the other ones as if for dinner only to arrive and be bundled into a vehicle, some of them in their short knickers to be inaugurated at 9.30 pm in the night.
“Yours was 6:00 am, Edoka was 9.30 pm, all these are unholy hours. Those are nocturnal hours. The working hours for parliament are provided by the rules of the parliament. It is not up to anyone to change those rules only properly constituted parliament can change the rules as they are.”
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