By Yusuf Boluwatife
Crisis looms in the Plateau State House of Assembly as youths loyal to the purportedly impeached speaker, Ayuba Abok, on Monday, surrounded the assembly complex.
It all began last Thursday when 6 legislators of the 24-member parliament impeached Abok and immediately elected a replacement, Yakubu Sanda from Pengana constituency.
However, the embattled speaker, same day, presided over a sitting outside the complex where he suspended the members involved in his impeachment.
Meanwhile, the majority leader of the house, Naanlong Daniel, who led the impeachment claimed that 16 out of 24 members of the house signed in favor of the action.
Abok, however, said otherwise as he claimed that his impeachment was illegal because two-thirds of the members did not sign his impeachment. He also accused the State governor, Simon Lalong, of masterminding the process.
As early as 4am on Monday, Abok and his group reportedly gained access to the complex to demand his reinstatement.
Some placard-carrying youths were seen asking that the lawmaker is reinstated, describing him as “a youth standing for the future of Plateau”.
Vanguard also reported that security operatives fired shots in the air to disperse the protesting youths as many of them scampered for safety.
