Patrick Ahanor
The crisis rocking Edo state House of Assembly yesterday took a dangerous dimension after the legislators engaged themselves in a free-for- all over alleged suspension of speaker Uyi Igbe by a faction of the lawmakers.
This was just as the Sergeant- at- arms, Mr. Robert Ogiri, accused the faction of forcefully breaking into the chamber and sat without the mace which, according to him, “is the symbol of authority.”
“I was preparing to lead the speaker and other legislators into the assembly when they broke into the chamber,” Ogiri said.
Besides, the Chairman, Committee on Information, Youths and Sports, Hon. Kabiru Ajotu, described the alleged suspension as “laughable,” adding that four of the factional lawmakers had been suspended.
Trouble started at about 10.am when the factional legislators led by the deputy speaker, Festus Ebea of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and eight other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers into plenary that lasted less than 30 minutes and suspended the speaker, majority leader, Philip Shuaibu, and four others.
The group accused the speaker and the suspended lawmakers of bringing the Assembly into public odious and disrepute by unjustly suspending the deputy speaker and four other lawmakers who recently dumped the APC for the PDP.
The faction consequently elected Ebea as speaker.
The development however turned bloody when the speaker and 12 others surfaced at plenary just as the Ebea-led faction were about to leave the chamber during which they engaged themselves in a physical combat.
Some of the lawmakers were severely wounded in the melee, just as thugs loyal to the parties took advantage of the situation to unleash mayhem.
Operatives of the state police command had a hectic time putting the situation under control using tear gas canisters to douse tension and control inflow of thugs.
The use of tear gas nevertheless led to the collapse of four pregnant women at the nearby Oba Market. The expectant mothers’ reportedly fainted after inhaling the substance.
The state police commissioner, Folusho Adebanjo, told reporters that scores of hoodlums who “tried to cash-in on the lawmakers feud have been arrested by the operatives.”
Notwithstanding, Speaker Igbe later led 12 other lawmakers to plenary, and called on President Goodluck Jonathan to call the PDP to order.