According to Channels Television, the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Gabriel Dewan, has provided insight into his decision to swear in only nine out of the sixteen members of the House who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The move has sparked controversy and drawn criticism from the APC, with questions raised about the fairness and transparency of the process.
The sixteen APC members were returned to the House following a ruling by the Court of Appeal, which nullified the election of sixteen members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who had been occupying those seats. However, despite the court’s decision, Speaker Dewan opted to swear in only nine members, leaving out the remaining seven.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Speaker Dewan defended his actions, stating that the seven members were yet to complete the necessary procedures required before they could be sworn in. He explained that while there was a pronouncement by the court regarding the removal of the sixteen members, proper communication and documentation had not been provided to him by the relevant authorities.
According to him, “Sometime in November, there was a pronouncement in the court that 16 of my members have been removed by the Court of Appeal. A pronouncement in the court is different from the procedures in the House.”
“I wasn’t in the court, I heard it on air that 16 members have been removed. INEC didn’t react. There is no communication to me from the INEC or the CTC of the judgement for me to be sure that truly those members have been removed or anything.”
“And I was waiting for that proper thing to be done, what did I get? Sometime in January, a lawyer, one S.O Obende or so, wrote a letter to my office attached with 16 certificates of return of members and I replied back that Obende is not a member of my Assembly. If the court has declared members elect the members know the normal procedure to follow.”
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