Unic Press UK: The Benue state governor Samuel Ortom has been served a ‘questionable’ notice of impeachment.
The notice was initiated and served on the governor by a faction of only 8 members of the House of Assembly, who belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The total number of lawmakers in the state’s House of Assembly is 30, and Section 188 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria stipulates, among other things, that at least two-third of the lawmakers’ – which is 20 in the case of Benue state – shall be required to impeach a state governor.
Further guidance is that one-third of the Assembly members, which is 10 given the composition of the Benue state Assembly, is the quorum to be formed before a plenary session of the lawmakers could hold. Section 96 (1) of the Constitution: “The quorum of a House of Assembly shall be one-third of all the members of the House.”
The crisis peaked last week, following Governor Samuel Ortom formal resignation as a member of the APC. His decision appears to be have been reached due to the intense pressures from the people of Benue state over the killing of innocents and destruction of their ancestral assets by armed nomadic herdsmen of the Fulani ethnic stock.
The National Assembly – The Senate and the House of Representatives – have strongly denounced the action of the 8 lawmakers of the Benue State House of Assembly. In a joint statement, the Senate President and the House of Representative Speaker described the action of the 8 as “desecration of legislative sanctity”.
JOINT PRESS STATEMENT
The Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, have described the on-going situation in the Benue State House of Assembly as "a desecration of the legislative sanctity." pic.twitter.com/u5ymR3E7dL
— The Senate President (@SPNigeria) July 30, 2018
