Kogi House of Assembly complex was, yesterday sealed
off by security agents on the order of the National Assembly following an
unresolved leadership crisis.
The entrance to the
assembly was blocked by heavily armed policemen on Wednesday morning and
barred members who were billed to conduct budget defence from accessing
the complex.
The road leading to the
complex was also barricaded by armed policemen, who subjected assembly staff to
scrutiny and only allowed them in upon confirmation of their employment status
through their identity cards.
One of the security
agents at the gate who declined to be named, told Daily Sun they were acting on
the order of the Commissioner of Police following a directive from the
Force Headquarters, in Abuja.
Speaking on the
seal-off, Mr Aliyu Akuh, deputy to embattled Speaker, Momoh-Jimoh Lawal said
the crisis remained unresolved as earlier directive to return to status
quo ante by the House of Representatives was ignored by the five members.
Akuh said the remaining
15 members considered the action of the minority five members as an
infringement on the Constitution of the country and added that in a good
democratic setting, such infringements must be challenged.
“We had to go to the
higher authority, which is the National Assembly, vested with the
constitutional powers to intervene in such situations. The House of
Representatives ordered the seal-off and it was concurred to by the Senate,” he
said.
Meanwhile, Governor
Yahaya Bello has said he was unaware that the National Assembly had taken over
the assembly.
The governor, who was
at the State House in Abuja to meet with the Chief of Staff to the President,
Abba Kyari, said
“I am the executive and
the executive is functioning and we are doing the best we can, so, legislature,
it’s their own business and they are on it. I have a speaker that is sitting
right now, so, I don’t know if there is any problem there.”
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