Impeachment dangles over Bayelsa Speaker

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has reportedly asked the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr Tonye Emmanuel Isenah, to either resign or be impeached, ahead of the November 16 governorship polls in the state, Daily Trust reports. The directive, it was gathered, has created bad blood between the duo, yet with each […]

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has reportedly asked the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr Tonye Emmanuel Isenah, to either resign or be impeached, ahead of the November 16 governorship polls in the state, Daily Trust reports.

The directive, it was gathered, has created bad blood between the duo, yet with each refusing to shift ground. While the governor is insisting that the speaker must go, the latter is saying he will not. The governor’s order was to pave way for the emergence of a Southern Ijaw lawmaker as the speaker.

Isenah, who was elected as speaker of the assembly in June 2019, is from the same local government with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the November 16 governorship election in the state, Senator Douye Diri.

Daily Trust further gathered that the idea of bringing Southern Ijaw into the picture, despite the fact that the immediate past speaker, Konbowei Benson, was from the area and was speaker for eight years, is to ensure that PDP captured the local government come the November governorship election.

This permutation is bearing in mind that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief David Lyon, is also from the area, though the party is very popular there.

Isenah, in a Facebook post early in the week, said he will not resign now as doing so will not help PDP in winning the forthcoming governorship election.

“My stand on the issue of resignation has been that I have served the party (PDP) and Governor Seriake Dickson faithfully and I will not resign as doing so at this time will not in any way help the party succeed in the November 16 governorship election.

“I call on my teeming supporters to distance themselves from making unnecessary statements and posts in the social media. When the need arises, I will make official statement on my stand” he said.

It was also gathered, however, that the restoration caucus of PDP led by Governor Dickson, also has the second option of impeaching the speaker if he refused to resign.

The speaker was said to have convened an emergency sitting of the house on Monday to announce a long recess running until after the governorship election, but the lawmakers who were on the side of Governor Dickson refused to turn up, thereby leaving the house without a quorum.

It was learnt that the governor has also reached out to some eminent stakeholders of PDP in the state to persuade the speaker to resign for the interest of the party.

However, Governor Dickson, during a live media chat, dispelled reported plan to impeach the speaker or force him to resign, saying that the assembly was stable and united.

He said in politics, there must be minor disagreements and misunderstandings, and that it takes an experienced leader to handle such situation.