Reps void Edo 7th Assembly, demand fresh inauguration

‎The House of Representatives on Wednesday declared as “null and void” all actions presumed to have been taken by the seventh Edo State House of Assembly, “pending proper inauguration.”

The lawmakers also directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, and the Director General of the Department of State Services, Mustapha Bichi, to shut down the State Assembly to avoid alleged intimidation of some members-elect.

The resolutions followed a unanimous adoption of a “Report of the House ad hoc Committee on the need for intervention in the Edo State House of Assembly crisis,” chaired by Abdulrazak Namdas (APC, Adamawa).

Adopting the recommendations therein, the House urged Governor Godwin Obaseki to publicly issue fresh proclamation for the inauguration of the State Assembly within one week, in line with the provisions of section 105(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The House further warned that the “National Assembly should invoke Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution and take over the Edo State House of Assembly,” if the recommendations were not ‎heeded.