As the division in the Edo State House of Assembly continues, the
House has declared the seat of one of its members, vacant.
The Speaker, Uyi Igbe, who made the declaration during the House
plenary at old assembly complex in Benin, explained that the affected
lawmaker, Abdulrazak Momoh, representing Etsako West 1 constituency,
defected from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic
Party without following due process.
Igbe stated that session 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 constitution, as
amended, authorised the Speaker to declare the seat of a lawmaker upon
defection from the party he was elected to another party and called on
the Independent National Electoral Commission to take necessary steps
to fill the vacant position within 90 days.
Abdulrazak Momoh, who however, described the action as laughable, said
the 15 APC lawmakers' action was cut short by the court action
instituted against them for forging his signature.
Momoh said there was a subsisting court order stopping the House from
declaring seats vacant, suspending and stopping the salaries of the
defected lawmakers.
He said the Speaker had in the past said he (Momoh) was not suspended
because of a pending legal action he instituted against the Assembly.
Momoh said, "And the court restrained them from suspending and
declaring my seat vacant. It is already a known fact that they do not
obey court orders.
"What they have done today is null and void because the Government
House is not the designated place for legislative activities."
The lawmakers have continued to hold separate plenaries since June 9,
when crisis erupted among the 24-member House.
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