The recently impeached Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, has declared that he remains the legitimate Speaker, arguing that the chaos in the Assembly complex has no constitutional basis.
Recall that the motion to impeach Ayambem was initiated by Effiong Ekarika, the lawmaker representing Calabar South 1 state constituency, citing alleged financial impropriety. The motion was seconded by Omang Charles, representing Bekwara state constituency.
The impeachment proceedings quickly descended into chaos. The Sergeant-at-Arms attempted to secure the mace, but Ekarika overpowered him. Seventeen lawmakers, who had pre-planned the impeachment, stood with Nigeria’s flag, chanted solidarity songs, and took the mace to a hotel.
Ayambem, however, dismissed the impeachment as “ridiculous” and “fake news” in a statement signed by his media aide, Matthew Okache. He asserted that the House of Assembly had not served him any impeachment notices prior to the incident.
The statement read: “The Cross River State House of Assembly has been alerted to false news reports that the 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 Ekarika, a member representing Calabar South 1, disrupted the session by inviting hoodlums to enter the chamber, is a ridiculous charade with no constitutional basis.”
Ayambem insisted that the House of Assembly was unaware of any impeachment notices and urged the public to disregard any reports of his removal. He emphasized that the alleged impeachment and replacement are speculative and lack constitutional backing.
“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,” the statement continued.
Ayambem reaffirmed his commitment to elevating the Cross River State House of Assembly and supporting the Executive arm of government, led by Governor Sen. Prince Bassey Edet Otu.
He also noted that the process for removing and electing a speaker must take place within the Assembly Complex, implying that the actions taken by the dissenting lawmakers were invalid.
