From Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
Barely few hours of the impeachment of four principal officers of the Kogi state Assembly on Friday, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Mathew Kolawole has been impeached.
Kolawole was impeached few hours after he presided over the impeachment of four principal officers of the house, including his Deputy, Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader and the Chief Whip.
His impeachment followed vote of no confidence passed on him by the 19 of the 25 members of the house.
However, as the time of filing in the report, no new Speaker has been elected to replace Kolawole who is representing Kabba-Bunu state Constituency in the house.
In the impeachment notice served on Kolawole Friday afternoon, the lawmakers said their action was pursuant to Section 92 (2) of the 1999 Constitution as ammended and Order 10 Rule 65 Sub 12 of the house’s standing rule.
The lawmakers said that Kolawole is no longer fit to occupy the seat of the Speaker of the house ” owing to financial impropriety, high handedness, serial abuse of office, refusal to abide by the provisions of of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as ammended.”
According to them, “Is with regards to the constitutionally required yearly sittings and grave unparliamentary conduct that has all cumulatively brought the integrity of the house of assembly as an institution to total disrepute and has furthermore reduced and nearly destroyed the personal integrity of members before their constituents and Kogi State in general .”
They said the house under Kolawole has been embroiled in messy crisis of confidence which has led to none payment of the members constitutional entitlements and gross corruption and diversion of funds meant for members of the assembly.
“The said Mr Mathew Kolawole used the Kogi State House of Assembly account to collect a personal loan running into hundreds of millions to the detriment of members of the house ,” they said.
The lawmkers said Kolawole is accordingly removed/impeached with effect from Monday, June 13 , 2022 in accordance with the 1999 constitution.
They said that Kolawole will remain on suspension pending the submission of final report by the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges on the allegations levied against him.
The Kogi state House of Assembly crises soars aftermath the APC national convention at Abuja which their principal, Governor Yahaya Bello lost the presidential ticket bid, thereby pointing accusing fingers at every directions.
Kolawole won the House of Representatives ticket of Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu federal Constituency of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during just concluded party primaries.
