Umar Imam
LOKOJA—The
crises rocking Kogi State House of Assembly took a
new dimension yesterday, as,
unexpectedly, the Speaker, Umar Ahmed, resigned his position.
Ahmed’s
resignation came exactly a week after the 25-member House passed a vote of
confidence on him and less than 48 hours after the Assembly was invaded by
hoodlums that disrupted plenary.
His letter
of resignation was read by the Deputy Speaker, Hassan Abdullahi, who presided
over plenary, which later elected Majority Leader, Kolawole Matthew, as the new
Speaker, unopposed.
Also, former
Chief Whip, Hassan Bello, was elected Majority Leader, while Wale Omofaiye was
elected as the new Chief Whip unopposed.
The House
has been embroiled in crises, with the executive arm alleged to be plotting the
removal of Umar Ahmed as Speaker, culminating in the last Tuesday’s invasion of
the Assembly by hoodlums.
The session,
which was attended by 20 out of the 25 members, also saw the retention of
Hassan Abdullahi (Dekina/Okura constituency) as Deputy Speaker, even as the
sitting was held under tight security.
I resigned
to save my life—Ahmed
The
ex-Speaker, Ahmed, in the letter dated August 3, said he decided to throw in
the towel to avert plunging the state into another round of crises and to save
his life, which has been under intense death threat.
In his
acceptance speech, the new Speaker, Kolawole, expressed gratitude to the
members for reposing confidence in him, promising to do his best to take the
assembly to enviable heights.
Vanguard,
however, gathered that it took the intervention of Senator Smart Adeyemi, who
brokered peace between the Assembly and the executive to ensure the “amicable”
resolution, prompting members of the House, which had initially adjourned
indefinitely, to swallow their pride and call for a sitting 24 hours after the
hoodlums’ invasion.
No comments:
Post a Comment