Hell was let loose yesterday on the floor of the Kogi State House of Assembly, following the decision of the Speaker, Kolawole Matthew, to declare vacant the seat of member representing Olomaboro constituency, Eneche Linus.
The member’s seat was declared vacant despite a court case instituted by the lawmaker to stop the Assembly from taking the action.
However, ignoring the suit, the Majority Leader of the House, Bello Abdullahi, moved a motion, to that effect stating that since Linus had decamped from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) he ceases to retain his seat in the House.
According to him, the motion was 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 the PDP.
Further, he said Linus subsequently became the PDP candidate for Kogi state House of Assembly election in 2019 general elections.
Bello also 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 the PDP members in the House who argued that there was no physical evidence to prove his defection by the APC more so since the matter was already in Court, it should be left for the court to give its verdict.
However, the Speaker overruled the PDP member’s argument and called for voice vote. In the process, the Speaker ruled in favour of the APC and the motion for the lawmaker’s seat to be declared vacant was passed.
It was noted that only 16 out of the 25 members Assembly were present at the sitting.
Reacting to the development, Hon Linus has described the exercise as lawlessness on the part of lawmakers who ought to have known the Law.
He described the action as null and void, saying he had gone to a Lokoja High court to seek interpretation of section 109 to enable him know if thespeaker has the constitutional right to declare his seat vacant.
“It was wrong for the State APC Chairman, Abdullahi Bello to write to the House to declare my seat vacant when the House was seeking the interpretation of section 109”, he said.
