Abia lawmakers react to rumours of plan to impeach Gov Ikpeazu
Lawmakers of the Abia State House of Assembly have debunked rumours making the rounds that they were making plans to impeach the state governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.
The lawmakers who addressed journalists after rising from a meeting with the governor at the Government House Lodge in Aba, the commercial nerve of the state on Saturday evening said that the rumour was a figment of the imagination of the purveyors of the fake news.
The lawmakers numbering about 10 led by some of the principal officers and ranking members of the House (Deputy Speaker and chairman House Committee on Media; Rt.Hon. Ifeanyi Uchendu, House Leader, Solomon Akpulonu, Hon. Chijioke Chukwu, Minority Leader, Thomas Nkoro and among others) said that they were strongly behind Dr. Ikpeazu whom they said would finish his eight year tenure strongly.
“What has been gaining ground on social media that the State House of Assembly is making plans to impeach the governor of Abia State is just a rumour. There are no plans like that.
“In fact, as we speak, the House has not even reconvened. We just went on holidays for the elections and are still considering a day to reconvene the House. Maybe some people have seen some members discussing how the election has come and gone and started putting all this false information on social media.
“I stand here to inform the media and the general public that there is no plan to impeach the governor of the state, the governor has done well for us and we will not impeach him. We are happy with his performance and even if he is leaving office in two months’ time, he will leave peacefully because he is a peaceful man,” said Deputy Speaker Abia State House of Assembly.
According to the House Leader, Solomon Akpulonu “there is no time that the House of Assembly wanted to impeach the governor; we didn’t plan anything. It is the figment of the imagination of the purveyor of fake news that littered everywhere in Abia State.
“The governor has done so much for us and we have no reason whatsoever to impeach the governor. We just came around to interact with him. As a House, we have given the governor all the necessary support and we will continue to give him our support even till the end of his tenure in the next few months.”
In his words, the Minority Leader of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Chijioke Chukwu said “There is no impeachment without my knowledge. I am here with the Deputy Minority Leader. The minority caucus of the Assembly is concerned that such a malicious rumour can be dished out to the public without our knowledge. I assure you that there is nothing of that sort. It is not true and it is one of those rumours that is always repeated from time to time to not only malign the House of Assembly, but it can only be the imagination of the people who conceived it. Their aim at this time, we don’t know, but I can assure you that this House of Assembly started strongly and will finish strong.”
There were indications on Saturday that some disgruntled members of the Abia State House of Assembly were planning impeachment proceedings against the governor as soon as the House reconvened from its recess before the 2023 general elections.
Our correspondent reported that, last year, the leadership of the House suspended sitting for about six months following an alleged move by some members of the state assembly to impeach some principal officers of the Assembly for various reasons.
