Imo: Speaker Confirms Removal Of Deputy, Pledges Loyalty To Gov, Denies Bribery Allegation

By Charles Igbo

The confusion over whether or not Hon Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu was impeached  on Tuesday November 2, as the Deputy Speaker of the Imo House of Assembly is clearing. The Speaker, Rt Hon. Paul Emeziem confirms it as true.

News broke on Tuesday that he Iwuanyanwu had been impeached. But his supporters, especially those close to Government House, Owerri, dismiss the impeachment as “purported”. They dismiss it as a ruse, and say it was a failed attempt.

18 members of the Assembly, out of 27, endorsed a resolution to impeach him. Even though no reason was adduced for the action, Speaker Emeziem carried it out to the letter, allegedly, without putting it to vote, or confirming the signatures of those who signed the resolution to impeach him.

Iwuanyanwu is a fierce loyalist of Governor Hope Uzodimma. Side talks are that he was removed because of his alleged arrogance, high-handedness and over-ambition. But his supporters and associates of Governor Uzodimma allege that Speaker Emeziem was compromised  into engineering the impeachment. They say he bribed law makers to the tune of N10m each. They say he was given a whopping sum of $300,000 to carry out the “purported” impeachment, and that it is  targeted at the Governor who they, allegedly, plan to impeach after Iwuanyanwu. With Iwuanyanwu fondly called Mr Capacity, they say, nobody dared plan an impeachment of the Governor.

But Speaker Emeziem, confirming that, indeed, his deputy has been removed from office, denied inducing any Lawmakers with even a kobo. He said there was no such thing as bribery. He dismissed the allegation as mischievous. He said he had no choice but to carry out the resolution of the members who voted, in the majority, to impeach him.

In a statement signed on his behalf by his Chief Press Secretary, Collins Osuji, Speaker Emeziem pledged loyalty to the Governor and Government of the State, and urged members of the public to ignore the bribery story, dismissing it as laughable and an attempt to malign him.

Following is an excerpt from the statement:

“The attention of the office of the Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Paul Emeziem has been drawn to the fictitious, malicious and baseless reports trending on some sections of the social media regarding the removal of the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu.

“The Speaker, as the chief servant of the House, as required by ethics and law guiding the state Assembly, only made the pronouncement after acknowledging that the resolution received endorsement of the far majority of the House members.

“But against the ‘factuality’ of what transpired, the mischief makers, sponsored by known elements, have taken to social media platforms to ditch out lies aimed at maligning the personality and integrity of the Speaker and the other members of the House.

“Also, that the Speaker and the members were bought over by some known politicians in the state to carry out the decision and by extension destabilize the state government led by His Excellency, Dist. Sen. Hope Uzodinma was nowhere near the truth and should totally be disregarded.

“We, therefore, want to use this medium to appeal to the Imolites and the general public to treat the trending misleading and lies-infested reports with levity as they can only come from a power drunk or drowning person or persons.”

However, the State Government at a press conference addressed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, confirmed plans to destabilize the State Government, and force a  declaration of a state of emergency in the State.