Reactions trail emergence of two speakers in Edo state House of Assembly.

It is no longer news that the Edo State House of Assembly now has 20 All Progressives Congress (APC) members and 4 People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members.

On Thursday, 6th of August, 2020, the political crisis rocking Edo state took another dimension as the 14 embattled lawmakers who have sworn their allegiance to the APC took oath of office, impeached the speaker and appointed a new speaker for the House of Assembly. The emergence of these set of newly sworn in lawmakers and speaker did not take place in the State House of Assembly Complex as the building was under renovation.

This latest crisis is connected to the removal of the deputy speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon; Yekini Idiaye, on Wednesday, barely 48 hours after he threw his weight behind the candidature of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the September 18 governorship election in the state.

The swearing in which took place in an undisclosed place led to the emergence of Hon. Victor Edoror as speaker who replaced the impeached Mr. Frank Okiye.

The impeached speaker of the assembly, Mr Frank Okiye, said the conduct of the 14 lawmakers amounted to treasonable felony, adding that what they did in a private residence could not stand.

He said: “We are 10 members of the Edo Assembly. Litigation on the fate of the 14 members-elect is still in court. I’m the speaker of Edo House of Assembly,” he said during a Channels Television programme, ‘Politics Today’.

In reaction to Frank Okiye claims, Mr Edoror said “I have been elected by my colleagues as the speaker, whatever Okiye-led assembly did in the past was illegal”.

Meanwhile, Governor Godwin Obaseki who was accompanied to the state House of Assembly Complex by his Deputy, Philip Shuaibu, stated that “Nigeria is governed by the constitution and Mr. President has always said, we must follow the rule of law and do things according to the law”.

The PDP in its reaction through the National publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan states that the “invasion and forcefully” taking over of the Edo State House of Assembly by security operatives was a coup and recipe for anarchy.

Ologodiyan while addressing press men in Abuja urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Adamu Mohammed, to wade in by immediately withdrawing the “illegally” deployed security operatives and protect democracy and peace in the state.

PDP former presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar describes the event as a threat to democracy and constitutional order. He stated this via his twitter handle, “What is happening in Edo State is a threat to constitutional order nationwide, and I strongly urge belligerent forces to reign in their proxies and abide by the rule of law. As I have previously said, without the rule of law, there will be no rule at all. The current goings-on portend grave danger, not only to law and order in that state, but to the coming Edo elections.

The people of Edo state should be allowed to choose who they wish to govern them, and that choice is to be made on September 19, 2020. Pending then, everything legally possible must be done to preserve the status quo”.

As it stands, Mr Frank Okiye of the PDP and Mr Edoror of the APC are both laying claims to the speakership seat of the Edo state House of Assembly.