Enugu Assembly speaker dismisses report
of his impeachment
MAY 4, 2015 : NAN
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The Speaker of the Enugu State House of
Assembly, Mr Eugene Odo, has described his
purported impeachment by the nine-man
faction of the lawmakers as legislative
recklessness and impunity.
Odo told the News Agency of Nigeria on
Monday that he was still the speaker of the
Assembly.
He noted that the action of the Chinedu
Nwamba group was illegal, unknown to law
and unknown to democracy.
“The status quo remains. I am still the speaker.
It is only two-thirds of the 24 lawmakers that
can impeach or suspend the speaker and only
eight of them cannot suspend or impeach the
speaker.
“It is true that they formed a quorum but a
quorum cannot impeach the speaker,’’ Odo
said.
He said he was being persecuted for not signing
a forged supplementary appropriation for 2012,
which the governor allegedly wanted him and
the Clerk of the Assembly to sign in 2015.
Odo claimed that the document had no records
in the proceedings of the Assembly.
The speaker said the crisis started when the
lawmakers declined to sign the N11bn loan
sought by the governor less than 60 days to the
end of his tenure.
“The governor surreptitiously called some
members and gave them N2m each to
impeach the Speaker,’’ he alleged.
According to him, one of the lawmakers, who
felt that the impeachment was against his
conscience, pulled out, leaving only eight of
them.
The speaker said the Assembly would resume
its plenary session on Tuesday.