The current crisis rocking Edo State constitutes a potential danger to constitutional order in Nigeria, former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has warned.
It is also a threat to successful elections in the state, Atiku added.
The impeachment of Yekini Idiaye, the Deputy Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly on Wednesday, and his replacement with Roland Asoro, snowballed into a major crisis in the state, as the Police on Thursday occupied the Assembly Complex.
Idiaye’s impeachment was said to have been carried out by seven members of the House who are loyal to governor Godwin Obaseki, who is seeking reelection on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, having decamped from the All Progressives Congress.
“Nigeria has been on edge due to the brinkmanship of those charged with democratic leadership. We must, as a nation, not escalate the already tense atmosphere in our polity,” Atiku warned in a tweet on his verified handle.
“What is happening in Edo State is a threat to constitutional order nationwide, and I strongly urge belligerent forces to reign in their proxies and abide by the rule of law. As I have previously said, without the rule of law, there will be no rule at all,” he said.
By Thursday evening there were reports that the Speaker of the House, Frank Okiye, and Asoro, had been impeached by a group of 17 legislators, who had previously been barred from participating in the activities of House.
The statement was not immediately confirmed, but Okiye has been quoted as dismissing reports about his purported impeachment.
There were also television images showing the roof of the Assembly House removed, and some men trying to remove symbolic Mace on the rooftop.
Edo State is billed to hold an election on September 19, 2020. Atiku said the current situation in the state is a threat to that.
“The current goings-on portends grave danger, not only to law and order in that state but to the coming Edo elections,” he said.
He said the people of Edo state should be allowed to choose who they wish to govern them. That choice “is to be made on September 19, 2020. Pending then, everything legally possible must be done to preserve the status quo,” he noted.
