Reps ask IGP, DG DSS to shut down Edo House of Assembly

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives yesterday asked the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and the Director-General of the State Security Services, Yusuf Bichi to immediately shut down the complex of the Edo State House Assembly and to provide adequate security to allay further fears of intimidation and threat as alleged by Members-elect.

This was just as the House vowed that the National Assembly shall “invoke the  provisions of section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)” to take over the State Assembly if all its recommendations are not comply with.

The Lower Chamber equally asked Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki to issue a fresh proclamation within one week in line with section 105(3) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended ) for a proper inauguration of the State’s 7th Assembly.

The Green Chamber reached the resolutions following the adoption of the Report of its Ad-hoc Committee set up for the intervention of the the Edo House of Assembly crisis.

Recall that the House last week set up an adhoc Committee chaired by Abdulrazak Namdas (APC, Adamawa) to investigate the crisis rocking the Edo State House of Assembly following the inauguration of only 9 out of the 24 Members-elect.

Presenting the report at plenary, Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Namdas declared all actions taken by the 7th Assembly Members are null and void, stressing that the National Assembly should take over Edo State House of Assembly if the Governor and the Legislature fail to comply with recommendations in the report.

He added that, “all Members of the Edo State House of Assembly, both those who have been inaugurated and those who have not been inaugurated should dissolve their factions in  the interest of peace and stability of the House with the view to  moving the State forward.

“Where recommendations fail, the National Assembly should invoke the Provisions of Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to take over the State House of Assembly until the situation normalizes.”