Ebonyi Assembly illegally sacked us — PDP lawmaker

Franca Okpo, a member of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly representing Abakaliki North, has described the state assembly’s sacking of Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers as illegal.

The house, she claims, lacked the authority to declare her and two other seats vacant.

She expressed concern that, despite Justice Inyang Ekwo’s decision to dismiss the 16 lawmakers who defected to the All Progressives Congress, they continued to parade themselves as members of the House.

This was stated by Okpo in a statement she signed and made available to journalists on Thursday in Abakaliki.

“My attention has been drawn to an online publication by the sacked members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, purporting that I, Hon. Mrs Franca Okpo, Hon. Victor Aleke, and Hon Okechukwu Ali resigned our positions, as a result of which our seats were declared vacant,” the statement read.

“It is no longer news that the Federal High Court in Abuja on the 8th of March sacked 16 members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, including the erstwhile Speaker, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, a judgment that the erstwhile Speaker and the other sacked members claimed to have accepted in good faith in a live broadcast, not that they had any other option.”

“You may recall that the former Speaker said they had applied for a stay of execution. No stay of execution has been granted by any competent court to date.

“It is thus surprising to learn that the duly sacked members of the House have declared the seats of genuine House members vacant.”

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“I urge you all to remain calm because any action allegedly taken by them is not only invalid from the start because neither of them has the authority to do so, but it also constitutes contempt of court and forgery, and will not be taken seriously.”

“Until a competent court of law states otherwise, the sacked members are no longer members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.”