Edo Assembly declares member’s seat vacant after he dumps APC for PDP

By Wale Odunsi on July 31, 2014@dailypostngr

The Edo State House of Assembly, on Wednesday, declared the seat of one of its members, vacant.
The Speaker, Uyi Igbe, who made the declaration during the House plenary at old assembly complex in Benin, explained that the affected lawmaker, Abdulrazak Momoh, representing Etsako West 1 constituency, defected from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party without following due process.
He pointed out that session 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 constitution, as amended, authorised the Speaker to declare the seat of a lawmaker vacant upon defection from the party he was elected to another party.
He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to take necessary steps to fill the vacant position within 90 days.
Reacting, Abdulrazak Momoh, described the action as laughable, saying the 15 APC lawmakers’ action violate the court action he instituted against them for forging his signature.
Momoh said there was a subsisting court order stopping the House from declaring seats vacant, suspending and stopping the salaries of the defected lawmakers.
He recalled that the Speaker had in the past said he (Momoh) was not suspended because of a pending legal action he instituted against the Assembly.
Continuing he said, “The court restrained them from suspending and declaring my seat vacant. It is already a known fact that they do not obey court orders.
“What they have done today is null and void because the Government House is not the designated place for legislative activities”.
The lawmakers have remained disunited since June 9, when crisis broke out among them.

Edo State House Of Assembly Suspends Deputy Speaker And Three Lawmakers

The Deputy Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Mr. Festus Ebea, along with four other members of the house have been suspended.
Thisday reports that the lawmakers were suspended early this morning, 9 June, 2014 for alleged  misconduct.
Some of the suspended lawmakers are Friday Ogieriakhi representing Orhionmwon South; Jude Ise-Idehen, Ikpoba-Okha; and Patrick Osayimwen, Oredo East.
It was gathered that only 11 members of the state house of assembly were present at the sitting where the lawmakers were suspended under section 38 rules three of the House Rules.

 * Edo State House of Assembly
Moving the motion for their suspension, Paul Ohonbamu, Ego state constituency said actions of the affected lawmakers constituted misconduct.
The motion was seconded by Majority Leader, Philip Shaibu and member representing Etsako West II.
It could be recalled that Governor Adams Ooshiomhole of Edo State said last week that some mebers of the house got money from Abuja to impeach him from office.
As at the time of compiling this report, the state governor has not made an official statement on the suspension of the lawmakers.

WARNING AND VIRUS OUTBREAK

Published Since May 29, 1968	Home | About Us | Advertising | Archives | Contact Us | Weekend Observer | Sunday Observer |							Wednesday 30. Jul 2014
Performance: Catholic Priest tasks Edo LG Chairmen
By OSE EHEBHA		Last Modified: 07/30/2014 20:31:57
IRRUA - A catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Francis Okhai has charged Local Government chairmen in Edo State to perform for the good of the people if they are to be relevant after office. Rev. Okhai the parish priest of Annunciation Catholic Church, Irrua, Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo State gave the warning when the chairman of Esan Central Local Government Council, Prince Solomon Eromosele came for thanksgiving at the church over his successful one year in office. The chairman was accompanied on the thanksgiving by the state commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Lucky James, Edo State All Progressive Congress (APC) chairman, Barr. Anslem Ojezea, deputy speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Edoror, chairmen of Esan North East, Esan West and Igueben, Local Government Conucils, Hon. Sam Oboh, Hon. Saturday Ogbeide and Hon. Julius Asemota respectively, amongst others. The catholic priest admonished the state council bosses to deliver the dividends of democracy to their people, warning them to learn from the misfortune presently bedeviling some of their predecessors who allegedly embezzled council resources while at the saddle. He lauded Prince Eromosele for the people oriented projects he has executed in the past one year in office, calling on others to emulate him. He advised the Esan Central Council boss to always put God first in all he does, just as he prayed God to grant him more wisdom, strength and good health to do greater works. In his speech, the celebrant, Prince Eromosele said he was spurred to offer thanks to God because of the enormous strength and wisdom He has provided him to deliver on his campaign promises to his people. Trendin 29 July 2014 Last updated at 17:19 GMT #BBCtrending: Can social media help prevent the spread of Ebola? By BBC Trending What's popular and why Ebola has spread to Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria Continue reading the main story Best of BBC Trending The internet's 'bling ring' exposed Watch Funny in six seconds Watch 'Self-drenching' craze in deaf community Watch The Palestinian prankster Watch West Africa is in the grip of the world's deadliest outbreak of Ebola, and many in the region are using social media to educate each other on the symptoms and prevention methods. #FactsOnEbola has been trending in Nigeria, with many sharing ways to prevent contracting the virus. "Symptoms of Ebola typically include: weakness, fever, aches, diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach pain #FactsOnEbola" tweeted one man in Benin City. "I started #FactsOfEbola this morning after having a conversation about the disease with friends," says Japheth Omojuwa, a Nigerian blogger with over 100,000 Twitter followers. "I have a civic responsibility to serve the public - my followers and my country," he told BBC Trending. Across Africa, social media is used for campaigning, for example the recent #BringBackOurGirls campaign which highlighted the plight of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. But when it comes to a disease, isn't it the role of the authorities to help educate the public? Omojuwa admits he's not a medical expert, but says he's keen to spread as many facts as possible. "I think it's better to bridge the gap between ignorance and information," he says. Since he started the hashtag on Tuesday morning, it's had nearly 2,000 tweets. Across the border in Ghana, people are scared, says Nana Boakye-Yiadom, a journalist with Accra-based Citi 97.3FM. The radio station started the hashtag #EbolaFacts and is tweeting out information about the effects of Ebola and prevention methods that can be used. That hashtag has also had just over 2,000 tweets. Ghana's Immigration Service has openly admitted that its personnel were "not well-equipped" to deal with the outbreak "let alone be in the position to hold anybody suspected of having the virus". "The question everybody here is asking is 'What if it comes?' We are not prepared," says Boakye-Yiadom. "We have a huge following online and the perceptions on the street of Ebola are wrong. By tweeting out information we got the hashtag trending and people can now see the information around the disease." His colleague Mawuli Tsikata, who devised the campaign for the radio station says there isn't enough education about Ebola and the situation on the ground is frightening. "Ghanaians are big on social media and so we tapped into that. It's our role to educate the public," he says. Reporting by Ravin Sampat You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending All our stories are at bbc.com/trending