Drama in Plateau assembly as eight out of 24 lawmakers impeach speaker

The Plateau state house of assembly has impeached Abok Ayuba, its speaker.

Ayuba was impeached on Thursday morning by eight lawmakers from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The impeachment was presided by Saleh Yipmong, the deputy speaker.

According to NAN, the eight lawmakers gained access to the assembly complex as early as 6am to carry out the impeachment process while operating under the heavy presence of security agents.

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were reportedly prevented from entering the assembly complex.

The lawmakers were said to have attempted to impeach the speaker on Wednesday night but were unsuccessful with the plan.

Nanbol Daniel, lawmaker representing Langtang north-central (PDP), had said the impeachment would not hold because it did not follow the house’s rules on the impeachment of speaker and deputy speaker.

Also, on Wednesday, a petition against Ayuba had gone viral.

He was accused of corruption, abuse of office, financial misappropriation, among other allegations, by a group under the aegis of Youths Rights Against Corruption (YRAC).

The group had said it submitted a petition against Ayuba to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The group also demanded that the speaker should immediately step down from his position pending the completion of the investigation.

Yakubu Sanda, member representing Pengana constituency (APC), has been named as the new speaker.

The eight lawmakers said they would present the new speaker to Simon Lalong, the governor, today.