Oluwatosin Enesi
Hon Ayambem’s removal was made public in an impeachment notice signed by 17 out of the 25 members of the State House of Assembly which they later later affirmed in a Press Briefing held at the metropolitan Hotel in Calabar.
It was also learnt that consultations, delivration are ongoing as the house was yet to elect another Speaker to succeed the embattled Ayambem at the time of his report.
The 17 members described Ayambem as a tyrant who according to them undermines their interest and has been allegedly involved in various forms of financial misappropriation.
The speaker was impeached via a motion under maters of urgent public importance inline with order 24 of the Cross River State Assembly rules.
His removal according to them was based on the grounds of gross financial misconduct, incompetence and wrong conduct of plenary proceedings, non compliance and total failure to convene leadership meetings.
The impeachment notice reads: “Having met the Constitutional requirements of two-third majority( 17 members)we the under-listed members of the Cross River State House of Assembly hereby pass a vote- of-no- confidence on Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, Speaker of the House of Assembly and he is hereby removed.”
Hon. Ayambem is also accused of “misappropriation of the sum of N48,000,000.00 (Forty-Eight MillionNaira) meant to pay electricity bills for the House of Assembly complex and the House of Assembly Quarters, Misappropriation of 2% of all revenue collected by the Internal Revenue Service (|RS) monthly for oversight functions of the House of Assembly in line with Section 18(a)(i) of the Cross River State Revenue Administration Law 2011 as amended to the tune of N404,683,855.1 0 (Four Hundred and Four Million, Six Hundred and Eighty-ThreeThousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Five Naira, Ten Kobo).”
Other allegations include; “Misappropriation of the sum of N19,437, 844.00 (Nineteen Million, Four Hundred and Thirty-Seven Thousand, Eight Hundred and forty-five Naira) from Local Government deduction and 11 months deductions which he allegedly failed to disclose to members.”
The motion for his impeachment was moved by Honorable Effiong EKarika, representing Calabar-South-1 and was Seconded by Honorable Charles Omang Omang representing Bekwarra state constituency in the Assembly.
However, while reacting to his impeachment, Rt Hon Elvert Ayambem accused Hon. Effiong Akarika, a member representing Calabar South 1, of disrupting plenary session by inviting hoodlums to enter the chamber, saying that he is still the Cross River Assembly Speaker.
Disclosing this in a statement by Matthew Okache, Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Ayambem faulted his impeachment, describing it as a ridiculous charade with no constitutional basis.
His words: “The Cross River State House of Assembly has been alerted to false news reports that the Cross River State House of Assembly Speaker, Rt Hon. Elvert Ayambem, has been impeached.
“To be clear, the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly is without a doubt Rt. Hon Elvert Ayambem and that is the current position. What happened earlier today (Wednesday) during the plenary, when Hon. Effiong Akarika, a member representing Calabar South 1, disrupted the session by inviting hoodlums to enter the chamber, is a ridiculous charade with no constitutional basis.
“The House of Assembly is not aware of any impeachment notices being served to anyone before the frivolous act as witnessed at the chambers. The alleged impeachment and replacement are speculative, and the general public is urged to disregard fake news and dismiss any notion of a crisis. The status quo is that Rt Hon Elvert Ayambem is the Speaker of the House of Assembly.
“Mr. Speaker, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem remains unconcerned and determined to elevate the Cross River State House of Assembly and support the Executive arm of government, led by His Excellency, Sen. Prince Bassey Edet Otu, in achieving the people’s first mantra.
“Also note, that the removal of the speaker and election is not done anywhere but within prescient of the Assembly Complex”.
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