Lawmakers on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives have threatened to frustrate the reconvening and consideration of the N242 billion supplementary budget for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies should the Federal Government fail to stop the planned impeachment of Benue State governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom.
Addressing the press yesterday, deputy minority leader of the House, Hon. Chukwuka Onyema said the PDP House caucus condemns in its entirety the impunity and unconstitutional approach employed by eight members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State House of Assembly to impeach Governor Ortom. He warned that if the APC-led Federal Government does not restrain the military and police from supporting the eight members to impeach the governor, they will kick against reconvening the National Assembly to deliberate on the INEC budget and even if the House resumes, they will boycott the sittings.
Speaking further, the minority leader said: “We condemn the gross injustice in Benue State and we hereby affirm that constitutionally, at least 20 members of the House of Assembly must sit to form a quorum and thereby, in its entirety, the so-called impeachment process begun by eight renegades and their sponsors must duly be described by all Nigerians as an illegality, an exercise in futility which shall remain null and void.”
•Excerpted from New Telegraph report
NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s leading online newspaper. Published by Africa’s international award-winning journalist, Mr. Isaac Umunna, NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s first truly professional online daily newspaper. It is published from Lagos, Nigeria’s economic and media hub, and has a provision for occasional special print editions. Thanks to our vast network of sources and dedicated team of professional journalists and contributors spread across Nigeria and overseas, NEWS EXPRESS has become synonymous with newsbreaks and exclusive stories from around the world.