Breaking: Imo chairmen, councillors barricade Assembly

TRACKING>>Elected Council Chairmen and Councillors in Imo State on Monday, stormed the Imo State House of Assembly, barricading the entrance to protest reported plan by the Lawmakers to terminate their tenure.

The aggrieved Chairmen and their supporters arrived the Assembly complex in a large crowd of supporters as early as 9am but were prevented from gaining entrance into the premises by a detachment of Policemen deployed to the House of Assembly to forestall possible breakdown of law and Order.

Speaking to newsmen, the leader of Okigwe legislative council, Godwin Nwankwo, said that they had inkling that the lawmakers wanted to carry out the action at a plenary scheduled for Monday.

Nwankwo who is also the chairman of Association of elected councillors in Imo state, said that their intention was to be part of the plenary and observe the proceedings.

He said, “We heard rumours that the lawmakers want to repudiate the laws they made. They want to approbate and reprobate. This is a law that they made that local governments are to serve for three years. We are lawmakers and not lawbreakers. The way they are elected is the way we are elected. All elections are the same under the constitution. They have no power to dissolve us.

The Speaker of the assembly, Chinedu Offor, who neither confirmed nor denied it, asked how the Chairmen got to know about the intention of the House when they were not spirits.

He asked our correspondent to wait for further clarification.

Offor said, “How did they know what we want to do? Are they spirits?

Asked if the lawmakers have the intention of sacking the chairmen and councillors, Offor said, “Wait until we finish.”

As at the time of writing, the lawmakers are said to be having an executive session in preparation to going into plenary.