Akwa Ibom Assembly Leadership Tussle Deepens

Akwa Ibom Assembly Leadership Tussle Deepens

File Photo of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly

The crisis at the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly over its leadership took a new dimension on Tuesday with gunshots fired into the air.

A five-man faction of the House led by Nse Ntuen arrived at the chamber early in the day and concluded a sitting.

In the course of the deliberations, the lawmakers were said to have commenced impeachment proceedings against the state governor, Udom Emmanuel.

Police personnel were later deployed to restore normalcy at the complex in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

The security officials fired several gunshots into the air to disperse some suspected thugs who had earlier gained entrance into the premises of the complex.

Afterwards, the Speaker of the State Assembly Onofiok Luke led the other 21 members into the Chambers where they sat for about two hours deliberating on various issues.

On November 19, suspected thugs reportedly sponsored by some aggrieved lawmakers stormed the state assembly disrupting plenary in the process.

The aggrieved lawmakers were alleged to be those whose seats were declared vacant by the Speaker of the House.

The thugs were eventually dispersed by police officers who teargassed them and restored normalcy to the premises of the House of Assembly.

Following the situation at the assembly complex, the police a few days later sealed off the premises, thereby denying lawmakers and staff to gain access.

Plenary resumed today at the assembly after being sealed off by the police since Wednesday last week.