By Olusegun Olanrewaju and Joel Israel
Confusion reigned supreme yesterday as armed policemen tear-gassed the returning 16 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members of the Plateau State House of Assembly who were sacked by the Court of Appeal.
The lawmakers had arrived at the Rayfield Old Government House in Jos in the early hours of the day accompanied by their supporters preparatory to their resumption of plenary before being given the shocker of their lives.
They arrived at the Assembly premises, to the waiting arms of the security operatives who had taken over the premises of the Government House.
The security men prevented the sacked lawmakers from entering the chambers of the House of Assembly, but the lawmakers were adamant about entering the premises.
However, in the wake of the ensuing bedlam, the speaker of the state House, Gabriel Dewan, said he had a court injunction to recognise only eight members of the assembly.
Dewan said the 16 sacked lawmakers, alongside other 16 with certificates of return, were all laying claim to the seats.
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Explaining the serenading issues to newsmen in Jos, in the wake of the resumption of the lawmakers’ long recess, the speaker said the eight members gained access to the temporary premises of the assembly, but the others were denied entry.
Dewan’s words, “At present, there are 32 members laying claim to the seats. Since the 32 members had their certificates of return, and are laying claim to their mandates, it would be unlawful to admit them into the chambers.
“For now, only eight members will be sitting. I have a court injunction restraining the House from inaugurating the 16 APC members.”
He added, “The House receives the judgements from two courts, one from a Court of Appeal and another one from the Supreme Court. And you know I am a lawmaker; I can’t interpret the law. Therefore, I must see full interpretations of these judgements before I know what to do.
“The only thing I know now is that there are 32 members of the House of Assembly claiming 16 constituency seats right now, that is the reason I see the interpretations.
‘’So, for now, the Plateau State House of Assembly has only 8 members whose seats are not in contest, and only 8 members are recognized by my leadership. The other 16 members will join us when the law is made clear.”
But in his remarks, the leader of the 16 PDP lawmakers who came to resume plenary but were locked out, Ishaku Maren from Bokkos Constituency, spoke on behalf of 16 sacked members.
He said, “We know the Plateau State House of Assembly is law-abiding and has acted by the law. And as a group we are also law-abiding, we are calm, we are organised and we stand for our Speaker Rt. Hon Gabriel Dewan Kudangbena.
“We are ready to wait until the judgments are interpreted to give legitimacy to the House of Assembly.”
Meanwhile, the 16 APC lawmakers were not present at the plenary, but the state Publicity Secretary of APC, Sylvanus Namang, said the legislators were advised to stay away from the sitting to avoid a clash.
The party also commended security agencies for averting the total breakdown of law and order at the resumed sitting of the Plateau State House of Assembly yesterday.
