Proceedings at the Benue State House of Assembly on Tuesday degenerated into fisticuffs over an alleged 750 million Naira car fraud.
Tuesday’s face off was a fallout of an alleged probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) into the purchase of cars for the lawmakers.
Trouble started soon after sitting commenced with Honourable Kester Kyenge raising a point of order before the consideration of votes and proceedings of the previous sitting.
The Speaker of the House, Honourable Terkimbi Ikyange, who sensed the danger in the motion raised, ruled Mr Kyenge out of order.
The situation led to members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Assembly calling for the removal of all principal officers of the House.
The All Progressives Congress (APC)-led legislature strongly resisted the move at the floor of the House in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
The situation got worse as lawmakers from the APC, which is the Speaker’s camp and the PDP members used abusive words against each other, prompting the Speaker to adjourn sitting to Thursday.
In an interview with the media, Mr Kyenge in company of his PDP colleagues, expressed concern that the Benue State government had failed to pay workers’ six months salaries, amidst rising insecurity in the state.
They also accused the Speaker of corruption and again demanded the resignation of the principal officers in the House.
The Speaker on his part said that contrary to the PDP lawmakers’ claims, 13 of them violated the law in the purchase of the cars which prompted the EFCC probe.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Samuel Ortom, Mr Terver Akase, accused the PDP lawmakers of orchestrating a plot to set up the civil servants against the government.
