…I’m not aware – Bello
From Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja and Juliana Taiwo- Obalonye, Abuja
Kogi House of Assembly complex was, yesterday sealed off by security agents on the order of the National Assembly following an unresolved leadership crisis.
The entrance to the assembly was blocked by heavily armed policemen on Wednesday morning and barred members who were billed to conduct budget defence from accessing the complex.
The road leading to the complex was also barricaded by armed policemen, who subjected assembly staff to scrutiny and only allowed them in upon confirmation of their employment status through their identity cards.
One of the security agents at the gate who declined to be named, told Daily Sun they were acting on the order of the Commissioner of Police following a directive from the Force Headquarters, in Abuja.
Speaking on the seal-off, Mr Aliyu Akuh, deputy to embattled Speaker, Momoh-Jimoh Lawal said the crisis remained unresolved as earlier directive to return to status quo ante by the House of Representatives was ignored by the five members.
Akuh said the remaining 15 members considered the action of the minority five members as an infringement on the Constitution of the country and added that in a good democratic setting, such infringements must be challenged.
“We had to go to the higher authority, which is the National Assembly, vested with the constitutional powers to intervene in such situations. The House of Representatives ordered the seal-off and it was concurred to by the Senate,” he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Yahaya Bello has said he was unaware that the National Assembly had taken over the assembly.
The governor, who was at the State House in Abuja to meet with the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, said
“I am the executive and the executive is functioning and we are doing the best we can, so, legislature, it’s their own business and they are on it. I have a speaker that is sitting right now, so, I don’t know if there is any problem there.”
