Members
of the House of Representatives yesterday stopped a plot by a faceless group to
impeach the Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal.
Instead the endorsement of his leadership was reaffirmed with a
vote of confidence by the lawmakers in a tense session, the first after
resumption from the Yuletide holidays.
Earlier reports had it that the Transparency Network, a group of
lawmakers was making a move for the removal of the Speaker over alleged
fraudulent activity in the purchase of 400 Toyota Camry cars for members.
Members of the group of seven lawmakers led by Hon. Kaka
Gujbawu, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, member from Maiduguri municipal in
Borno State, were however said to have gone into hiding as it became clear the
plot would fail after it was leaked by an aggrieved conspirator.
Sources said the plot went awry when Gujbawu, a staunch
supporter of former speakership candidate, Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola
(PDP-Oyo), allegedly shortchanged other members of the group by paying them
$5,000 each instead of a higher amount allegedly agreed on earlier with sponsors
of the plot to carry out the impeachment move.
Akande-Adeola and Gujbawu were not at yesterday’s plenary,
confirming suspicions of their colleagues of their involvement in the
impeachment plot.
But a vote of confidence in Tambuwal, raised by Hon. Razaq
Bello-Osagie (PDP Edo) and seconded by Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha(PDPAbia),
finally quashed the move, as the suspected sponsor of the plot, Gujbawu
(PDP-Borno), was one of the few members absent at yesterday’s sitting.
After the passage of the vote, over 288 members of the House in
plenary rose for the Speaker who later regretted that some of his colleagues
were plotting against him despite his efforts to sanitise the House.
Tags
Politics