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Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG Email: nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com 08114495324 SMS ONLY
M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E
The Blame Game Continues
Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Ojo Maduekwe write that the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress are trying to hold each other responsible for the broadening crisis in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly
Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Uyo
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fter the initial invasion of the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly on November 19 by thugs belonging to the youth wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, and backed by officers of the Nigeria Police, the APC again invaded the state assembly on November 27. The thugs were allegedly led by the five former members of the House, who are members of the opposition APC in the state, namely; Nse Ntuen, representing Essien Udim; Idongesit Ituen, representing Itu; Gabriel Toby, representing Etim Ekpo-Ika; Victor Udofia, representing Ikono and Otobong Ndem, representing Mkpat Enin. The first invasion of the house was said to have been led by Ituen, who had gone to the courts to stop the house from declaring his seat vacant but instead got ruled against. The second invasion was alleged to have been sponsored
by Ituen and his four defecting colleagues. But the APC has a different narrative. According to its National Vice Chairman, South-south, Chief Hilliard Eta, the party frowned at the brutalisation of APC lawmakers and the interference of Governor Udom Emmanuel in the affairs of the state assembly. He said, the party’s position, especially at the zonal level was it would not sit idle and allow the impunity of the PDP to derail the democratic structure in the state. Eta further said the governor should approach the courts if he felt strongly about certain happenings in the assembly and reiterated that the party will do everything within its powers to protect the citizens of the state. The APC chieftain warned that the party will not stand aloof to watch the intimidation and harassment of APC members and citizens of communities in the state by those who are bent on remaining in the office at all cost using the power at their disposal as the governor of the state.
Following the second invasion, thousands of Akwa Ibom women were said to have marched out in the state capital of Uyo to demand the immediate sack of the state police commissioner, Musa Kimo, who was only recently deployed to the state in the heat of the first invasion. The women, led by the Commissioner for Women Affairs in Akwa Ibom state, Dr. Glory Edet; the PDP women leader in the state, Mrs. MmemeAkpabio, and a former Minister of Lands and Housing, Dr. Akon Eyakenyi, stormed the assembly complex at 9am to express their solidarity with the governor over what they described as “intimidation by the federal government.� According to Edet, “For the sake of peace, we want the removal of the Commissioner of Police, Musa Kimo. We have always had peace, and we want that peace to continue. We cannot have a police force that will abet the level of illegality that we have witnessed in the House of Assembly. Introducing anything other than peace in Akwa
Ibom is alien to our people. When there is crisis anywhere and women step in, there is always peace. This is why we have stepped in.� Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke, while addressing the women, urged them to pray for peace and not be afraid but to always rise to defend the country’s hard won democracy. He described the invasion as the most scandalous desecration of the state legislature yet. The state governor, Udom Emmanuel, and Luke have repeatedly accused the police as abetting the two-time invasion of the House of Assembly by the ousted members and thugs allegedly hired by them. The national chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, and the police commissioner, have tried to downplay both invasions. While Oshiomhole tried to paint the embattled former members as victims, accusing the PDP of “misusing the police� to undermine APC members democratic rights, Kimo said the police officers
‘Emmanuel Instigated This Crisis by Pressuring the Speaker to Declare APC Legislators SeatVacant’ Hon. Ini Okopido, Akwa Ibom State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress lays the charge for the crisis at the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly at the feet of Governor Udom Emmanuel and Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke r8F FYQSFTT BCTPMVUF DPOGJEFODF in the new Commissioner of Police who arrived the State only a few days ago on his new posting. We ask him to perform his duties creditably well no matter the inducement and intimidation from Udom Emmanuel.
QUICK FACTS: r"LXB *CPN 4UBUF )PVTF PG "TTFNCMZ has 26 legislators representing the 26 state constituencies. The state has 31 local government areas r"T BU /PWFNCFS CFGPSF QMFOBSZ PDP had 21members while APC had four members. Hon. Idongesit Ituen representing Itu, who had defected the APC lost his seat on November 14 through judgment of the Federal High Court, Uyo r*U XBT *UVFO XIP BQQSPBDIFE UIF court ostensibly to preempt losing his seat, but the judgment turned against him
r *U JT POMZ UIF *OTQFDUPS (FOFSBM PG Police that can deploy the Commissioner of Police, and so the call by Udom Emmanuel for the transfer of the new CP is a misplaced flippancy and abuse of office and privilege r 4JODF 6EPN &NNBOVFM JOTUJgated this crisis by pressuring Mr
Onofiok Luke to declare the seats of the APC legislators vacant, both of them should solve the problems. Calling on the President to intervene in the crisis they created is childish and amateurish. r4FOBUPS (PETXJMM "LQBCJP IBT OP hand in this crisis; and so the gover-
nor ’s resort to heaping insults and abuse on him is amounts to creating distraction. Since Senator Akpabio left the PDP in August, our governor has been so psychologically deflated that he blames the distinguished senator for all his afflictions, including his family problems.
r5IF 4QFBLFS BOE UIF )PVTF TJNQMZ enforced the judgment of the court not only against Ituen, but the other APC legislators since they were in a similar situation. At end of plenary on November 29, the four other seats of those who had earlier defected were declared vacant leaving PDP with 21seats and APC 0 r 5IF IPVTF JOWPLFE 4FDUJPOT H and 109(2) to declare the seats vacant r0G UIF Ă WF "1$ MFHJTMBUPST UISFF Ntuen, Tobby and Udofia-are from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district, represented by Senator Godswill Akpabio. Ndem is from the same Ikot Abasi federal constituency as APC governorship candidate, Mr. Nsima Ekere. Ituen is from Uyo senatorial
district. r" )JHI $PVSU TJUUJOH JO 6ZP "LXB Ibom state on Wednesday ordered Hon. Nse Ntuen to stop parading himself as the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly until the motion filed by the counsel to Speaker Onofiok Luke, is determined r5IF "1$ MFHJTMBUPST IBE QSFWJously held a ‘session’ in which Luke was removed as Speaker and Ntuen installed in his place r0O /PWFNCFS (PWFSOPS &Nmanuel stormed the House of Assembly accompanied by a large crowd of some policemen, officials of the DSS, commissioners and other government officials.
The five APC lawmakers were forcibly removed from the premises of the assembly. One of them, Ntuen allegedly sustained in the course of the ensuing melee r%VSJOH UIF UI "TTFNCMZ Ă WF TFBUT were also declared vacant by the then Speaker Rt. Hon. Sam Ikon. Those who were affected took the decision in good faith r-BTU ZFBS UIF POMZ "1$ NFNCFS JO the our house of assembly elected on the platform of the party, Hon. Asukwo Archibong, representing Urue Offong Oruko defected to the PDP. His seat was not declared vacant r 5IF UI BTTFNCMZ UFSNJOBUFT PO +VOF 8, 2019