2015 Drama Moves to AKHA: As Speaker Sam Ikon declares Four seats vacant:

The Peaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on Tuesday March 10, 2015 declared the seats of four house members vacant.  The affected lawmakers are: Hon. Kufre Etuk(Uruan LGA); Rt. Hon. Alice Ekpenyong(Mbo LGA); Hon. Bassey Etienam(Urueoffong/Oruko LGA) and Rt. Hon. Paul Owo(Ini LGA).

The lawmakers were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. After losing out in the last PDP primary, they sought greener pastures in other political parties. While Kufre, Alice, and Bassey defected to the APC, Paul went to Accord Party.

Rt. Hon. Sam Ikon, Speaker AKHA

The kicking out of the four lawmakers is said to be in line with House Rules. A letter, multiple sources say, was sent to the House and addressed to Speaker Ikon by the PDP requesting the declaration of the seats vacant on account that the occupiers had defected to other parties.

Surprisingly, Hon Sarah Elijah of Nsit Atai was not listed. Sarah was elected on the PDP platform but defected to Labour party to contest for a second term.

By this order, none of the four lawmakers will be allowed into the chamber as lawmakers henceforth. But there seems to be more to this than the legality of the removal.

As at press time our reporter was yet to decipher why Hon. Sarah Elijah was spared, but the lawmakers allegedly rendered jobless by the action of the House leadership catapulted by the ruling Party is believed not to be unconnected with the 2015 fireworks which started in the National Assembly last year when carpet crossing was reportedly carried out in both chambers of the National Assembly.

Pundits have held that the PDP was simply strategising to whittle down the financial strength of its opponents in the forthcoming elections.

However, the Speaker in a press conference with Journalists in Uyo yesterday said he was acting in the spirit of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  The Speaker said the seats of those affected would have been declared vacant since, but that he was being lenient whether the decampees  would have a rethink  and retrace their steps, but they did not.

The Speaker said unlike the falsehood peddled by a section of the media in the state that he was heavily induced to declare the seats of the four lawmakers vacant that such could have been done out of ignorance of the law and house procedures, that the ruling Party(PDP) sent a letter requesting that since they affected lawmakers came to the House under the umbrella of the PDP and had chosen to decamp, that their seats be declared vacant and that he acted based on that evidence as prescribed by the constitution.

The Chairman of Association of Conference of Speakers of Nigeria, Rt. Hon. Sam Ikon advised the media in the state to learn to celebrate persons from the State who have made it to the top by presenting them in positive light to help the state to grow at the centre of Nigeria, adding that with the height he has attained in the state and country he should rather be encouraged by the media rather than being bashed every day over issues that are simply explainable.