Uproar in Kogi Assembly as Speaker declares Olamaboro lawmaker seat vacant

Uproar in Kogi Assembly as Speaker declares Olamaboro lawmaker seat vacant

LOKOJA – There was uproar in the Kogi State House of Assembly, Tuesday, as the Speaker of the House, Kolawole Matthew declared vacant the seat of member representing Olomaboro constituency, Eneche Linus.

Kogi Assembly This is coming against the Court suit instituted by the embattled member to forestall the Assembly embarking on such move. Moving the motion, Majority Leader of the House, Bello Abdullahi called on the House to declare his seat vacant, saying Linus has decamped from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Abdullahi in his motion stated that based on his own investigation arising from a letter transmitted to the House by Kogi State Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Bello notifying them of the lawmaker’s silent defection to PDP and him later becoming candidate for Kogi state House of 

Assembly election on the platform of PDP in 2019 general elections.

The majority leader said the lawmaker’s defection contravened Chapter 5, Part 2, Section 109-1 subsection G of the 1999 constitution as amended. The motion which was seconded by Ahmed Mohammed (Anpka 1, APC,) resulted in heated argument from PDP members in the House who argued that there was no physical evidence to prove his defection by APC and the matter was already in Court. The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Matthew Kolawole overrode the PDP member’s argument, called for voice vote and subsequently passed the motion for the lawmaker’s seat to be declared vacant. 16 out of the 25 members Assembly were present at the sitting.