Prince Matthew Kolawole has debunked the report of his impeachment by the Ahmed Mohammed faction of the Kogi State House of Assembly, maintaining that he remains the Speaker of the House.
Recall that the assembly, last week, was embattled by impeachment and counter-impeachment of principal officers in a deteriorating crisis.
Speaking on behalf of Kolawole, the Chairman of House Committee on Information, Hon. Tenimu Isah (Lokoja 1) in a statement said the rumoured impeachment of the Speaker was from the embattled four Assembly members who were impeached and suspended as principal officer on Friday.
Those four impeached on the floor on Friday were; Ahmed(Ankpa 1); Majority Leader, Abdullahi Balogun (Ajaokuta); Deputy Majority Leader, Idris Ndako, (Lokoja 2) and Chief Whip, Moses Ododo (Dekina 1).
Three of the impeached lawmakers were also suspended from participating in the activities of the House till further notice. They are the former Deputy Speaker, Majority Leader and the Chief Whip.
Isah said the impeachment of the former principal officer was done on the floor of the Assembly, wondered where the impeachment of the Speaker was carried out.
“If you see the statement and document about the removal of the Speaker, Prince Matthew Kolawola, you will know that it was full of falsehood. First they complained that their was no due process in calling for today’s sitting. Whereas, their was proclamation to that effect. According to the House Rules, It is the Speaker that has the authority to issue proclamation; and he did it on Wednesday.
“In the purported circulated release, they (the four members) stated that signature for the Speaker’s impeachment was collated on May 10, 2022 and effected on June 13, 2022. Unfortunately in their effort to install falsehood, they forgot that June 13 was a public holiday. So where did they sit?
“The signature they are spreading around was one detached from a previous attendance sheet. It was the signature when the Assembly members passed a resolution in support of the Governor, Yahaya Bello.
“I make bold to tell you that Prince Matthew Kolawole is in charge and there was no such thing as impeachment on him. The House is moving on and now concern with making law, and legislating on issues that has direct impact on the people of the state. I want to assure the people of Kogi State of more legislation that would improve on the wellbeing of the people”.
