Akwa Ibom Assembly crisis: Gov. Emmanuel calls for Buhari’s intervention

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the Akwa Ibom Assembly crisis to ensure continuous peace in the state.
Emmanuel said this at a news conference held in the Government Lodge in Uyo on Tuesday after the pandemonium in the State House of Assembly.
He said that the state would continue to remain peaceful in spite the siege in Akwa Ibom House of Assembly.
He said: “We are calling on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, please, we are citizens of this country and the President should take necessary action to forestall this because we have seen the sign.
“I want to believe my people will be protected by the constitution and by the law of this country.
“We stand for peace and we shall ever remain peaceful and law abiding citizens of this country.”
The governor also expressed displeasure over the deployment of police to the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly and called for the redeployment of the Commissioner of Police, CP Musa Kimo, from the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Kimo assumed duty in the state on November 23.
The governor said that democracy in the state was being threatened and appealed for support to protect ‘the hard earned democracy’.
He said that the state government had received intelligence report on plans by the sacked lawmakers to take over the house of assembly alleging that the plans were being executed and supervised by the police.
He alleged that the same police that he used state resources to equip were fighting the state; adding that several petitions to President Buhari and the IGP about the activities of the Police and the sacked lawmakers had been ignored.
Emmanuel said: “The court ordered the speaker that those who had defected, their seats should be declared vacant, this is not the first time and it is in line with the rule of law.
“I want to call on the police force to ensure that the commissioner of police and the Quick Response Squad are withdrawn so that we can maintain peace.”
Recently, angry youth and supporters of the opposition All Progressives Congress in the state had stormed the assembly complex to protest the sack of a lawmaker, Idongesit Ituen.
Ituen, who represented the Itu State Constituency, was sacked by a federal high court for defecting from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to the APC.
In spite of the protest, the Speaker, Onofiok Luke, then declared vacant the seats of four more lawmakers who had also defected from PDP to APC.
The sacked lawmakers, (five), later held their sitting where they ‘removed’ the speaker, Luke, and ‘elected’ one of them, Nse Ntuen (Essien Udim State Constituency) as the “new speaker”.