ONITSHA—Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Mrs Rita Maduagwu may have been gripped by fear over alleged plot by her colleagues to impeach her as she failed to reconvene the House yesterday .
Apart from that, she also failed to give her usual annual Easter message to the people of Anambra state. The House, through a motion for adjournment moved by the majority leader, Mr Victor Jideoffor Okoye and seconded by Mr Onyebuchi Offor was adjourned last Thursday to reconvene Tuesday this week. But a member of the House, Mr Chigbo Enwezor told us on phone that he got a text that the House would not sit yesterday because they were on Easter break. Also,the lawmaker representing Anambra state constituency, Mr Obinna Emenaka who spoke with us on phone simply said, ‘ we are not sitting today till after Easter,” and did not give reasons for the development. When we visited the Assembly complex, none of the lawmakers was seen except some of the workers who gathered in groups discussing the development. It would be recalled that last Thursday, the Speaker allegedly disappeared with the mace, the symbol of authority of the House to her Ukpor country home in Nnewi South Local Government Area when she sensed that her colleagues had concluded plans to impeach her over alleged highhandedness and other sundry offences. But a lawyer and a former member of the House of Assembly who did not want his name in print faulted the action of the majority leader by adjourning and fixing a date to reconvene when there was no presiding officer during the plenary. According to him, there should have been the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker or an elected Speaker Protempore to preside over the plenary, adjourn and reconvene the House. “The old wooden mace l was told was brought into the chambers was a contraption and it is criminal to bring a contraption into the House purporting it to be the authority of the House and that means the House was not reconvened ab initio.”
Apart from that, she also failed to give her usual annual Easter message to the people of Anambra state. The House, through a motion for adjournment moved by the majority leader, Mr Victor Jideoffor Okoye and seconded by Mr Onyebuchi Offor was adjourned last Thursday to reconvene Tuesday this week. But a member of the House, Mr Chigbo Enwezor told us on phone that he got a text that the House would not sit yesterday because they were on Easter break. Also,the lawmaker representing Anambra state constituency, Mr Obinna Emenaka who spoke with us on phone simply said, ‘ we are not sitting today till after Easter,” and did not give reasons for the development. When we visited the Assembly complex, none of the lawmakers was seen except some of the workers who gathered in groups discussing the development. It would be recalled that last Thursday, the Speaker allegedly disappeared with the mace, the symbol of authority of the House to her Ukpor country home in Nnewi South Local Government Area when she sensed that her colleagues had concluded plans to impeach her over alleged highhandedness and other sundry offences. But a lawyer and a former member of the House of Assembly who did not want his name in print faulted the action of the majority leader by adjourning and fixing a date to reconvene when there was no presiding officer during the plenary. According to him, there should have been the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker or an elected Speaker Protempore to preside over the plenary, adjourn and reconvene the House. “The old wooden mace l was told was brought into the chambers was a contraption and it is criminal to bring a contraption into the House purporting it to be the authority of the House and that means the House was not reconvened ab initio.”