Politics

Drama in Imo House of Assembly as 9 lawmakers defect to APC, deputy speaker resigns

Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 11:01 PM by Jerrywright Ukwu

- Nine Imo state lawmakers have defected to the All Progressives Congress

- The minority leader of the house is one of the lawmakers who defected to the new ruling party in the state

- The deputy speaker of the house, Hon. Okey Onyekanma, has also resigned his position

News coming out from Imo indicates that nine lawmakers in the state House of Assembly have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

While four of the lawmakers are defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), another four are from the Action Alliance (AA), while the remaining lawmaker is defecting from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

The minority leader of the house, Ekene Nnodimele, is one of those who defected to the new ruling party in the state.

Drama in Imo House of Assembly as 9 lawmakers defect to APC, deputy speaker resigns — New Imo governor, Hope Uzodinma has gotten more party members in the Imo state House of Assembly. Photo source: Twitter
Source: UGC

The lawmakers who defected are;

1. Chidiebere Ogbunikpa (Okigwe) - PDP to APC

2. Johnson Duru (Ideato South) - AA to APC

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3. Paul Emeziem (Onuimo) - PDP to APC

4. Authur Egwim (Ideato North) - AA to APC

5. Heclus Okorocha (Ohaji/Egbema) - PDP to APC

6. Ngozi Obiefule (Isu) - AA to APC

7. Ekene Nnodimele (Orsu) - APGA to APC

8. Chyna Iwuanyanwu (Nwangele) - PDP to APC

9. Obinna Okwara(Nkwerre) - AA to APC

In a related development, the deputy speaker of the Imo House of Assembly, Okey Onyekanma, has resigned.

Onyekanma also resigned as the chairman, house committee on rules and business in a letter read by the speaker during plenary on Tuesday, January 21.

The deputy speaker who is a member of the PDP, represents Mbaitoli constituency in the state.

Meanwhile, the southeast zonal vice chairman of the PDP, Austine Umahi, has declared that judges of the Supreme Court will know no peace until they reverse the decision to oust Emeka Ihedioha as the governor of Imo state.

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The apex court had declared Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC as the duly elected governor of the state sparking condemnations and protests nationwide.

Umahi who was speaking at the PDP protest in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital over the judgement, said the judiciary has since lost the respect it used to command in the past from the masses.

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Similarly, a group, Concerned PDP youths, on Friday, January 17, staged a protest in front of the National Assembly against the recent judgment by the Supreme Court which removed Ihedioha and declared Uzodinma as the authentic winner of Imo governorship election.

The protesters who all appeared in black attire, comprised of young men and women in their early 20s.

They also carried different placards with inscriptions like; “Presidency and Judiciary murders Democracy,” “Supreme Court is a fraud,” “The judiciary under the APC government is a failure.”