Plateau Assembly speakership crisis: APC Demands Unsealing of House of Assembly Complex
By Daniel Agada, Jos
The All Progressive Congress (APC) has called for immediate opening of Plateau State House of Assembly by the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Bartholomew Onyeka for effective legislative function.
Plateau state publicity secretary of APC, Hon.Sylvanus Namang who made the call on Thursday, while speaking to newsmen at the party’s Secretariat in Jos, insisted that Rt.Hon.Yakubu Sanda remained the authentic and legitimate speaker of Plateau 9th Assembly.
Recall on the 3rd April, 2023 Justice Nafisa Lawal of Plateau High Court 6 Jos Division reinstated Rt.Hon. Abok Nuhu Ayuba is the legitimate speaker of the state Assembly.
However, the commissioner of Police Plateau State command having acquired sufficient intelligence, which indicates that there was impending threat to peace amongst the lawmakers as a result of the speakership tussle, a development that led to the closure of the legislative complex by the police.
The CP also warned the warring factions of Yakubu Sanda and Abok Nuhu Ayuba not to make any attempt of coming to the House for now until all issues is adequately addressed.
However, the APC state Publicity Secretary acknowledged that the Judgment was delivered on 3rd April, 2023. The three days elapsed by midnight of Thursday, the 6th. of April, 2023.
Therefore, the earliest date for the enforcement of the Judgment by the Court would have been Friday the 7th April, 2023 or thereafter!
“Before then, the Notice of Appeal and Motion for Stay of Execution and Injunction to restrain Abok from execution was filed and served on him on Tuesday, the 4th April, 2023!
“On the said 4th April 2023, Abok, despite having long ceased to be a Member of the House of Assembly with the support of Members of the PDP, invaded the House of Assembly under the guise of a Court-restored “Speaker” despite being a non- Member of the House, since the court did not and could not have restored him as Member, having never challenged the earlier declaration of his Seat as vacant upon decamping from the APC to the PDP!
“For Hon. Nuhu Abok, the non-Member but Court-declared “Speaker” who has been duly served with the Notice of Appeal and Motion for Stay of Execution of the Judgment/Injunction to resort to self-help by storming the House in Commando Style and pretending to be back to Office as Speaker outside the known procedure for enforcement of Judgments under Nigerian law, is simply an invitation to chaos and anarchy which has no place in any society governed by the Rule of Law.
“The APC as a Law abiding Party, hereby calls on the Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, who by the way had also filed a Notice of Appeal and a Motion for Stay of Execution of the Judgment duly served on all Parties in the Suit, to put a stop to the excesses of Hon. Nuhu Abok Ayuba and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which is enabling and encouraging him in his exhibition of lawlessness.
“The Plateau State Command is duty bound to provide security and protection to the legitimate Members of the State House of Assembly to enable them continue to discharge their statutory duty of Law-making, devoid of any interference by hoodlums and imposters such as Nuhu Abok.
“The APC is keenly watching to see how this Theatre of the absurd playing out and orchestrated by Nuhu Abok Ayuba and the PDP pans out”, Namang stated.
