There was commotion at the Edo State House of Assembly on Tuesday, when nine lawmakers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suspended Hon. Uyi Igbe, the speaker of the house and a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The aggrieved lawmakers, including Hon. Festus Ebea, the deputy speaker who was suspended on Monday, reportedly forced their way into the chambers to move a motion for the speaker’s suspension.
Upon hearing the news, Hon. Igbe and other APC lawmakers, visited the chamber only to realise that the suspension had been effected.
The lawmakers engaged in a brawl, forcing the police to intervene by firing canisters of teargas to disperse them.
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Although news doing the rounds had it that the suspension of the four lawmakers on Monday was politically motivated, the assembly attributed it to several acts of misconduct.
Tuesday’s suspension of the speaker evokes relics of the Rivers State house of assembly on July 9, 2013, when five lawmakers, led by Evans Bipi, announced the impeachment of the speaker, Hon. Otelemaba Amachree.
A number of lawmakers sustained injuries in the ensuing melee, while the assembly itself was shut down.
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