Enugu Speaker Accuses Chime Of Championing Illegality

Enugu Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Eugene Odo yesterday accused Governor Sullivan Chime of fuelling illegality in the state.

Chime had on Thursday adopted Chinedu Nwamba, who was presented to him by the state leadership of the party as the new Speaker of the Assembly.

Nwamba had on Monday been elected by eight out of the 24 members of the crisis-ridden House of Assembly as new speaker after his faction, purportedly suspended Odo and his principal officers.

Reacting to the development in Enugu, Odo dismissed the purported presentation of the new Speaker to the State PDP leadership and the Governor as a mere charade and exercise in futility.

He maintained that he still has the total support and loyalty of 15 majority honourable members of the House and therefore remains the Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly. He said it was unfortunate that the party chairman had to congratulate a Speaker that was elected by only seven members, thereby dividing the party further.

He said: “To crown it all, the father of the State who is the Governor, syndicated the presentation of a speaker that was elected unlawfully. That is not our expectation of what democracy should look like.

Odo noted that under the House rules, the Deputy Speaker could only preside when the Speaker was not around, but in this case, the Deputy Speaker presided with infinitesimal minority and the executive that should implement the laws of the land and the constitution of the country joined in encouraging impunity in Enugu state.

He regretted that those who should lead in the protection of law and order and rule of law in the State were the ones violating it. The Speaker therefore called on the Nigerian Police, the Department of State Security and the military to intervene in Enugu State to stop the dangerous slide, warning that they are trying to lay a foundation that may consume them and even their children tomorrow.

Meanwhile, former National Auditor of the PDP, Chief Ray Nnaji has condemned what he described as “impunity” being perpetrated in the state allegedly by government officials.

Reacting to the purported adoption of Nwamba as new Speaker by the party, Nnaji said such development was responsible for the crisis at various levels of the party in the state.