By Akanimo Sampson
The State Publicity Secretary of the ruling party, Ini Ememobong said, ‘’we had earlier alerted in the early hours of today (Monday) that the APC was planning to prevent the sitting of the House of Assembly, using thugs.
‘’Confirming our intelligence, before 7 am buses bearing insignia of the opposition APC led by known chieftains of their political coven appeared at the gate of the Assembly and set up bonfire, preventing human and vehicular traffic and seeking to prevent the lawful business of the state legislature.
‘’Thankfully, the police intervened and the Speaker led members into the chambers and resumed legislative duties. At the sitting, the Speaker evoked the provision of Section 109(2) which empowers him to declare the seats of those who had infringed upon Section 109(1)(g) and accordingly declared their seats vacant.
‘’We commend the Speaker for respecting the Constitution without fear or favour. In our state, this scenario is not nouveau, as the seats of the Assemblymen who defected to APC in 2014, had been declared vacant. The state House of Assembly has always been a very law abiding institution and therefore under the current Speakership of Onofiok Luke, it can not afford to dwell in illegality.
‘’We advise the opposition in the state to come to the realization that our state and nation operate under the rule of law and abhors the rule of might. We can assure them that as this evil plot failed, today, so shall their planned ‘federal might’ backed Warsaw invasion fail.
‘’We return all the glory to God Almighty who answered the prayers of the state led by the Governor and has granted Akwa Ibom people a peaceful heart despite the very unwarranted and unprovoked assault by the opposition. God frustrated the devices of the APC and prevented their hands from performing their enterprise.
‘’May we commend to the opposition the scriptural poser contained in Lamentations 3:37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?. Akwa Ibom people must remain vigilant and resolute in the defence of our collective patrimony, especially now that we are faced with people with insatiable greed for wealth and unquantifiable thirst for blood.
‘’We have overcome and will continue to conquer by the blood of the Lamb and by the words of our testimony’’, Ememobong said.
Picking up from there, the national spokesman of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, says the party also condemns the role allegedly played by the police in the state, in reportedly aiding the invasion of the House of Assembly complex by the hoodlum, resulting in near breakdown of order in the state Legislature.
The suspected armed thugs, who allegedly accompanied a former member of the House, Idongesit Ituen, attempted to disrupt proceedings in a bid to stop the House from reading an order of a Federal High Court, which had last week declared his seat vacant following his defection from the PDP to the APC.
The court had in a declarative judgment ordered the House of Assembly not to recognize Ituen as a member of the state House of Assembly.
Suspiciously, the new Police Commissioner, J.B Abang, who was last week posted to the state without any reasons, reportedly ordered the immediate withdrawal of police officers attached to House members an action, which paved the way for the hoodlums to invade the complex and attempted to disrupt proceedings.
Curiously, the hoodlums who attempted to break into the chambers allegedly had the backing of policemen, while the members were unprotected, a development which pointed to high-level official conspiracy against the state legislature.
Though the House stood in defence of the law and declared Ituen’s seat as well as those of four others who had decamped from the PDP vacant, in line with the judgment of the court, the PDP completely condemns the action of the police in aiding an invasion of a legislative house.
While stating that their lawmakers will not be deterred by any form of intimidation and resort to violence by the APC and compromised security officials, particularly the police, the PDP urges Nigerians to hold the Police and the APC responsible should any harm come upon the leadership or any member of the state House of Assembly.
Emerging scenes from the House show that a former member of the Assembly, who was recently ostracized by the Federal High Court, has mobilised thugs to come and start fomenting crises, by hindering movement into the complex. They are allegedly armed and are burning tyres and disrupting law and order in the vicinity.
Governor Udom Emmanuel, insiders say, has repeatedly maintained that nothing short of peace and unity is needed to move Akwa Ibom forward, irrespective of political affiliation or aspirations.
