George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The crisis rocking the Imo State House of Assembly is yet to abate as the new Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Chinedu Offor has suspended the former Speaker and Majority Leader of the House, Hon Acho Ihim and Lugard Osuji for 11 legislative sittings.
Offor, (Onuimo State Constituency), who had emerged as the speaker following the resignation of Hon. Lawman Duruji (Ehime Mbano), last Wednesday, at the plenary held yesterday, suspended Ihim (Okigwe) and Osuji (Owerri Municipal) for allegedly running the Assembly “without administrative prudence.”
Hon Offor, who confirmed the suspension of the former House principal officers, said that the duo during their tenures had, through their activities, brought the House into disrepute.
With their suspension, it does mean that they would not be part of the legislative activities until the winding down of the 8th State Assembly, on June 6.
Imo State Assembly has been embroiled in crisis in the last one month following the unilateral lifting of the suspension of the council chairmen by the former Speaker, Acho Ihim, after they had allegedly given the sum of N150 million to the leadership of the House. But some members were said not to have been happy at being schemed out of the sharing of the largesse.
Ihim had resigned his position as Speaker to avoid impeachment after his suspension by angry members. Also, his deputy, Hon. Ugonna Ozuruigbo, had also resigned in a bid to escape impeachment.
However, Hon. Duruji, who emerged last week as the new Speaker had also resigned, last Wednesday, paving way for Chinedu Offor, former Commissioner of Information under the immediate past government of Owelle Rochas Okorocha.