The embattled Speaker of the Bayelsa Assembly, Emmanuel Isenah, has been impeached and replaced with a lawmaker representing Southern Ijaw Constituency 2, Monday Obolo following the invasion of the chamber by suspected hired thugs who shot sporadically.
The sitting of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly ended abruptly on Monday as the suspected thugs stormed the complex shooting sporadically disrupting the sitting.
The shootings began when the Speaker Emmanuel Isenah was about to enter the chambers after a heated three hours closed-door meeting with members.
In the ensuing melee, the mace was removed by unidentified persons as the lawmakers and journalists scamper for safety. There was tension around the Assembly complex in the build-up to the sitting where the Speaker was expected to resign or face impeachment in an event he fails to resign. He has since been replaced with a lawmaker representing Southern Ijaw Constituency 2, Monday Obolo.
Ranami Afagha, a media aide to the impeached speaker, says his removal would not stand because it did not follow the assembly’s standing rule.
Those who don’t want peace said they removed (the) speaker without the presence of the mace. The mace was taken away so any activity done without the mace is illegal. So, my boss still remains the Speaker,” he added.
Mr Isenah, who is from the same Kolokuma-Opokuma LGA with Douye Diri, the governorship candidate of PDP, has been under pressure to resign as the speaker so that his party can spread political offices to enable them to pull in more votes in the forthcoming elections. But he had continuously resisted such pressure.