Senator describes suspension of Rivers lawmakers as ‘intimidation of legislature’

PDP in Rivers State had suspended 27 lawmakers.

A serving senator, Magnus Abe (PDP-Rivers South-East) said on Tuesday that the suspension of 27 lawmakers by the Rivers chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is an intimidation of the legislature.

The Felix Obuah-led Rivers PDP executive had on April 29, suspended 27 of the 32-member Rivers Assembly.

Mr. Obuah said the legislators were suspended for their failure to rescind the decision to suspend the chairman, vice chairman and 17 councillors of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

Mr. Abe told newsmen in Port Harcourt that it is unconstitutional to intimidate the legislature.

He said the action taken by the state chapter of the party undermined the constitution.

“Everybody who is a legislator will tell you that nobody, by the laws of this country, is supposed to try to intimidate the legislature in the execution of their constitutional duties.

“So, what this amounts to is a clear effort by somebody to undermine the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It has never happened anywhere.

“Even in the House of Representatives when the party came to prevail on the PDP members of the National Assembly to elect somebody as speaker, and they elected somebody else, nobody suspended all the PDP members of the House of Representatives because everybody understands that a lawmaker is supposed to vote his conscience at critical times.

“That’s the foundation of our presidential system of government. So, we are not in a parliamentary democracy where the party can order you to vote one way or vote the other way,” he said.

Mr. Abe urged the state assembly and the people of the state to ignore the action taken by the PDP.

“I want to urge Rivers people to ignore it and urge the House of Assembly to ignore it and go about their constitutional responsibilities.