In what appears to be a follow up to the lead story of yesterday’s (Thursday 30th Nov 2017) edition of this newspaper where it was stated that “Impeachment Axe Dangles on Okorocha, Ihim” Trumpeta can further reveal that the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Acho Ihim, has received an impeachment threat from his colleagues.
An ominous signal threatening the lofty position of the speaker who represents Okigwe State constituency emerged when 21 lawmakers signed and authorized the suspension of the Clerk, Mr. Chris Duru, during yesterday’s plenary
The members who after endorsing the Clerks suspension, further threatened to go after the Speaker should he persist in covering up Duru, who the lawmakers are holding in the jugular for unexplained misdemeanor. Immediately, after the members stormed out of the plenary session from the chamber occasioned by the Clerks refusal to leave after he was suspended, the lawmakers confronted Ihim to inform him that the 21 names that asked for the Clerks suspension have the capacity to remove him from the position.
Trouble started yesterday when the members returned to the chamber for plenary after the Tuesday aborted Budget presentation. The majority leader backed by 21 members who appended their names asked for the immediate suspension of Duru for alleged acts in contrast to Assembly rules.
The motion of the majority leader, Hon Lugard Osuji (Owerri Municipal) was supported by others prompting the Speaker to raise an adhoc committee headed by member Representing Obowo, Hon Kennedy Ibeh.
But when the majority leader noticed that the suspended Duru was still inside the chamber, occupying his seat as Clerk and monitoring proceedings, he quickly moved another motion asking the suspended official to leave but to his greatest chargrin and that of other lawmakers who watched the drama, Speaker Ihim overruled the Majority Leader to keep Duru in the chamber.
The action of the sanctioned Duru and decision of the Speaker to overrule the mover of the motion forced the members to leave en masse from the chamber prompting the Speaker to end the plenary session with forced adjournment.
Few of the members who spoke to Trumpeta under strict anonymity complained of the suspected bias approach of Speaker Ihim during the plenary. The Speaker was accused of “protecting” the Clerk which warranted his refusal to leave the Chamber after suspension.
These complaints forced the members to hand the Speaker impeachment threat at a closed door meeting during the post plenary discussion. A member informed Ihim that the 21 lawmakers who endorsed the Clerks removal can as well send him packing as number one lawmaker even as there were grumblings after the session of Ihim’s poor management of the proceedings.
Trumpeta however gathered that the lawmakers went after the Clerk over certain unconfirmed allegations. Grapevine sources accused him of endorsing document without the consent of the House members as well as being suspected of allegedly not working in tandem with their desire in terms of Executive/Legislature relationship.
What further irked the lawmakers to issue Ihim an Impeachment threat was their observation that apart from the Obowo lawmaker, Hon Kennedy Ibe who endorsed the suspension of Clerk, others, the Speaker included were not part of those advocating for sanctions against Duru showing that he has a deliberate plot to give the top management official a soft landing.
Meanwhile, while the Speaker immediately after the sitting recoiled to his official quarters alone, other members went to have in close door meeting its agenda cannot be separated from the Impeachment threat.
Efforts by our reporter to get the Clerk speak on the matter proved abortive as his office assistants said he was not disposed to react to Journalists on the matter.
