By Chijioke Kingsley
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The Crisis rocking the Plateau State House of Assembly seems to have taken a new turn as the Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Gabriel Dewan on Friday sworn-in nine members of the All Progressive Congress (APC), who lost the 2023 Assembly elections but was given victory at the Appeal Court.
Recall that the court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had sacked 16 duly elected People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and had given victory to 16 APC members who lost at the general elections.
However the Speaker of the Assembly had declined the swearing-in of the 16 members citing a Federal High court injunction.
After four months of political drama, the crisis took a new turn as the Chairman of the APC Rufus Bature in a press conference on Friday in Jos alleged that the nine members were forced to sign an undertaking by the Speaker that they will not impeach him as well as Governor Caleb Mutfwang.
“Haven signed the undertaking, they were sworn-in. But the seven members you see here today refused to sign the undertaking and that was why they were not sworn-in”, Bature said.
He continued: “All this time, we made entreaties to the Speaker to swear our 16 members in, but all our appeals went to no avail; he never attended our appeals, and we knew he was getting his instructions from somewhere, and we believe it was the governor who gave him those instructions not to swear in the 16 members because of the fear of the unknown.
“We are aware that the 16 PDP members went for the review of their case in the Appeal Court, but it was turned down, and the Speaker has no other option than to swear in these 16 APC members. But he still defiantly refused to swear in the 16 members.
“We have tried all we could to appeal to the Governor, and I am sure that in the last week, from very high quarters, he was directed to instruct the Speaker to swear in the 16 members, but this morning we woke up with the bizarre news that the Speaker called for a meeting at 7:00 a.m. and swore in nine of the 16 members.
“We were informed that, as a prerequisite for their swearing in, forms were given to them to sign. The nine that were sworn in were those who cooperated, while those who refused were left out of the swearing in.
“The nine who were inaugurated today did not consult the party and their respective constituencies; they were on their own. The prerequisite for being sworn in was that they sign the forms to show their allegiance.
“When we made an inquiry about the form they signed, it was discovered that in the case of any breach of the constitution by the Governor, they would not impeach him. Also, they must agree to the extension of the tenure of the local government transition committee chairmen as directed by the Governor.
“To the surprise of everyone, this morning we were informed of the facts of what happened last night. The nine members slept at the Governor’s house, and this morning, by 7:00 am, they were sworn in, and they also agreed on the nomination of the principal officers of the House as directed by the Governor”, the APC Chairman said.
However, in another development, the Governor has received the newly nine sworn-in Assembly members in his office today.
In a statement signed by the Governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Mr. Gyang Bere, the Governor said the development has put to an end, the recent misunderstanding within the House.
According to the statement: “Today brings me immense joy. I have always advocated for the seamless functioning of the three arms of government. Thus, it is gratifying to witness the House fully operational, poised to safeguard the interests of the people of the State across various constituencies.
“Despite false accusations of obstructing the House’s inauguration, it is evident that the House is fully in charge of its affairs. Rest assured, we are committed to serving the people of Plateau State”, the Governor said.
