There is confusion at the Imo State House of Assembly as elected local government chairmen and their councillors protest alleged moves by the members to dissolve them.
As early as 9.am, the local government chairmen and their councillors, together with their supporters, blocked the entrance of the assembly.
It took a truckload of policemen to prevent them from gaining access into the premises.
Speaking to newsmen, the leader of Okigwe legislative council, Godwin Nwankwo, said that they had inkling that the lawmakers wanted to carry out the action at a plenary scheduled for today.
Nwankwo, who is also the chairman of Association of elected councillors in Imo state, said that their intention was to be part of the plenary and observe the proceedings.
He said: “We heard rumours that the lawmakers want to repudiate the laws they made. They want to approbate and reprobate. This is a law that they made that local governments are to serve for three years. We are lawmakers and not law breakers. The way they are elected is the way we are
elected.
“All elections are the same under the constitution. They have no power to dissolve us.”
The speaker of the assembly, Chinedu Offor, who neither confirmed nor denied it, asked how the chairmen got to know about the intention of the house when they were not spirits.
He asked our correspondent to wait for further clarification.
Offor said: “How did they know what we want to do? Are they spirits?”
Asked if the lawmakers had the intention of sacking the chairmen and councillors, Offor said: “Wait until we finish.”
As at the time of writing, the lawmakers were said to be having an executive session in preparation to going into plenary.