The constitutional power of the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, was, Thursday, resisted as speaker and members of Delta State House of Assembly, stepped down the letter which was purportedly aimed at dissolving the fifth Assembly as constituted by the former Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, on June 7, 2011.

The Assembly led by Hon. Peter Onwusanya took the action during plenary on the floor of the house.

The action was taken based on a point of order raised by former Speaker of the House, Hon. Victor Ochei.

Okowa had, in a letter, sought to dissolve the fifth assembly as it was believed that the session of the current assembly had finally elapsed.

As the clerk of the House had read the next order on the Order Paper as proclamation of the dissolution of the assembly, and started reading the letter from the governor, the lawmakers rose to oppose the content of the letter.

Ochei drew the attention of other members to the provision of Section 105 Subsection 3 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

He said the section holds that “a House of Assembly shall stand dissolved only at the expiration of four years starting from the first day of its sitting.”

Ochei’s action caused confusion in the House, leading to the members converging at the Speaker’s seat for a political solution to the issue.

At this point, the Speaker called for the House to adjourn sine die after consultation. Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Monday Igbuya, moved the motion for the House to adjourn sine die, and was seconded by the member representing Uvwie, Efe Ofobruku.

Earlier during the valedictory session, the Speaker, Hon. Onwusanya, eulogized members for their commitment to duty in the past four years, saying that 38 bills were passed out of the 55 that were proposed during the period under review.

According to him, 31 of the bills were given assent, adding that the House also passed 119 resolutions and 121 motions in the last four years.

Meanwhile, the sixth assembly of the Delta State House of Assembly will be proclaimed next Monday, June 8, 2015 by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

•Photo shows Okowa

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