According to daily news, ten members of the Kogi State House of Assembly, led by factional speaker, Imam A. Umar, yesterday in Lokoja, sat in defiance of a resolution of the House of Representatives to take over functions of the Assembly.
The House of Representatives, Wednesday, resolved to take over the functions of the Kogi State House of Assembly, directing the inspector-general of police to shut the House, following month of crisis in the Assembly.
But in an address at the “resumed sitting” of the House, the factional speaker Umar faulted the decision of the House of Representatives, saying it was illegal.
He said: “It behoves on this Assembly to question the dispatch with which the House of Representatives intervened in this ‘prevailing situation’ without exhausting the need for resolution of this internal leadership situation.
“For the House of Representatives to have gone ahead, passing a resolution to take over the House without first fulfilling the Constitutional provision of Section 11 subsection 5 is, to say the least, regrettable.”
He said the Assembly has been conducting its legislative businesses both at plenary and at committee levels, contrary to the claims made by the House of Representatives that the Assembly was unable to perform its function.
Umar urged the Senate to discountenance the concurrence sought by the House of Representatives on the matter, and reexamine the issues.
Meanwhile, the Kogi House of Assembly has resolved to file a contempt of court charge against the speaker of the House of Representatives, chairman and secretary of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee that investigated the Kogi Assembly crisis.
This development followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by the factional majority leader, Elder Friday Sani (Igalamela/Odolu State constituency).
The House adopted a motion rejecting, “in its entirety,” the decision of the House of Representatives in view of the provision of Section 11 (5), resolving that a committee be set up to investigate members involved in promoting disharmony in the Assembly.
The House held a valedictory session in honour of the late minister of state for labour and employment, James Ocholi, and commiserated with his immediate family members, President Muhammadu Buhari and people of Kogi over the loss.
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