Three days after he was impeached, the speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Mr Terkimbi Ikyange, has been suspended for six months. He was suspended on Friday after a motion was moved by the Majority Leader, Mr Avine Agbom, and backed by 18 other lawmakers who held plenary at the old banquet hall of the Benue State Government House Makurdi.
The lawmakers accused Ikyange of allegedly disparaging the house by mobilizing police personnel to the assembly complex to deny members access to the chamber. Police vehicles blocked the main entrance of the state House of Assembly on Friday, preventing the 22 lawmakers who impeached Mr Terkimbi Ikyange from gaining access.
However, the lawmakers vowed to carry on with the planned sitting in any part of the state, and eventually moved to the Government House for plenary where the Speaker was suspended.
Mr Ikyange had rejected his impeachment declaring the process illegal and believes the lawmakers are bent on destroying the legislature. However, the lawmakers told journalists that the impeachment process met all the constitutional requirements.
Join our twitter community :