Rt Hon Francis Nwifiru, Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, has been warned not to take any actions that could lead to anarchy in the once peaceful state.
Hon Victor Aleke, a lawmaker representing Ebonyi North West Constituency, issued the warning in a press release made available to our reporter, stating that forging fellow lawmakers’ resignation letters and declaring their seats vacant was unconstitutional.
According to Aleke, the situation became more concerning when lawmakers who were supposed to uphold the federal Republic of Nigeria’s constitution were the ones abusing the law by forging fellow lawmakers’ resignation letters and declaring their seats vacant, claiming that the act was poised to plunge the country into chaos.
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“It is public knowledge that on March 8, 2022, and 16 other lawmakers were sacked by a Federal High Court in Abuja for defecting from the party on whose platform they were elected.”
“The reaction to the decision has been overwhelmingly positive.
The majority of people saw no problem with lawmakers being removed from office because it is in accordance with the constitution’s express provisions.
“The primary goal of this press conference is to draw public attention to the sacked members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly’s violation of the rule of law.”
“As legislators, the constitution has made it clear that political parties are the most important players in the country’s electoral process.”
To begin with, the constitution stipulates that only aspirants endorsed by political parties are eligible to run for office.
“The sacked members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly are fully aware of all of these constitutional provisions, but have chosen to commit forgery and contempt of court by disobeying the Justice Inyang Ekwo Judgement that sacked them from office.”
“As a peaceful lawmaker, I applaud Justice Inyang Ekwo’s decision, as it will restore sanity to our political system while also strengthening our democracy.”
I implore all sacked members of the state legislature to follow the law as strictly as possible.
“I hereby inform the general public that I and two other People’s Democratic Party Ebonyi State House of Assembly members resigned our elected positions, thereby declaring our seats vacant, as reported in the media.”
The sacked lawmakers’ actions are blatant violations of the rule of law and contempt of court judgment, which is punishable by arrest.
“The good people of Ebonyi State and Nigerians should ignore such information because it is false and cannot be believed.”
As a result, I urge all constituents of these lawmakers whose seats were purportedly declared vacant to remain calm and peaceful, as the court order dismissing the 16 Ebonyi State House of Assembly members remains in effect until they obtain a stay of execution or a favorable decision from the appellate court.
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“As of now, Hon Chris Usulor, Hon Victor Aleke, Hon Chidi Ejem, Hon Engr Humphrey Nwuruku, Hon Dr Oliver Osi, Hon Franca Okpo, Hon Okechukwu Ali, and Hon Mrs Lilian Ngozi Eziulo are members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.”
“At the moment, these are the members of the state house of Assembly,” Aleke concluded, “until a court of competent jurisdiction rules otherwise or fresh elections are held within 90 days in accordance with the federal high court’s declarative judgment, delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo on March 8, 2022.”
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