Men of the Cross River State Police Command, on Thursday, cordoned off the state House of Assembly complex in Calabar.
Seventeen of the 25 members of the House had on Wednesday removed the Speaker, Elvert Anyambem, in a rowdy session.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, told The PUNCH on Thursday that the police cordoned off the Assembly complex to prevent a breakdown of law and order, not only in the Assembly but across the state.
At the rowdy Wednesday plenary, the lawmakers leveled sundry allegations against the Speaker, declaring him impeached.
But the Speaker, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Matthew Okache, described his impeachment as fake news in a press statement.
Okache said, “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.”
Though the 17 lawmakers insisted that Anyambem had been impeached, they had yet to name a new Speaker, because, according to them, they are “waiting for the governor of the state, Senator Bassey Edet Otu.”
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Ayambem, who represents Ikom 2 State Constituency in the Assembly, was elected Speaker in June 2023, but the majority of the lawmakers had passed a vote of no confidence in him.
As of Tuesday, over 20 out of the 25 members of the Assembly had signed up for his removal from office.
On Wednesday, the motion for his impeachment was moved by Effiom Ekarika representing Calabar South 1 State Constituency, and seconded by Omang Charles Omang, representing Bekwarra State Constituency.
In the impeachment notice, the lawmakers accused Ayambem of misappropriating N48m, which was meant to offset the electricity bill of the Assembly complex and the lawmakers’ quarters.
Ayambem was also accused of misappropriating two percent of all revenue collected by the state’s Internal Revenue Service, totaling N404m monthly.
Other infractions mentioned in the impeachment notice were: “misappropriation of the sum of N19,437,844.00 from local government deduction and 11 months deductions which he allegedly failed to disclose to members; un-parliamentary way of conducting proceedings; non-compliance with the Cross River State Legislature Funds Management Law 2021 and arbitrary approval of expenditure in flagrant breach of the provisions of Section 9(1) of the Cross River State Legislature Funds Management Law 2021.”
The impeachment notice was signed by Kingsley Ntui, Okon Owuna, Samuel Neji Abang, Cyril James Omini, Stanley Nsemo, Charles Omang Omang, Thomas Aruku, Eyo Bassey, Bassey Bassey Effiong, Francis Onete Ogban, Victor Nsa, Ovat Agbor, Pius Ashas Ashakia, Martins Achadu, Effiong Ekarika, Egbe Abeng Egbe, and Hilary Bisong.
