From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Imo State House of Assembly has suspended two of its members, Tochi Okereke representing Ngor Okpala, and Arthur Egwim of Ideato North for allegedly absenting themselves from sittings meant to give accelerated hearing to the appropriation budget submitted to the House by Governor Hope Uzodimma.
Speaker of the House, Kennedy Ibeh handed down the suspension, yesterday, after a special sitting.
Meanwhile, a source from the House said while Okereke was suspended for absenting himself several times without reason, Egwim was allegedly hammered for attending Uche Nwosu’s mother burial at Eziama Obire on Wednesday.
Speaker Ibeh had declared the seat for Ngor Okpala State Constituency vacant. He made the declaration, yesterday, following a motion moved by Johnson Duru and seconded by Chigozie Nwaneri.
Duru said Okereke had been absent from House proceedings for a period more than one-third of the total number of days the House had sat since its inauguration in 2019.
He quoted section 109 (9) of the 1999 Constitution, which recommended that members who default in this regard should vacate their seats, while it be declared vacant.
The speaker, therefore, directed the Clerk of the House, Mrs Chinelo Emeghara, to provide attendance record of the lawmaker since he was sworn in.
Upon examination, the record showed that Okereke only attended sittings 43 times since the ninth Assembly was inaugurated in the state.
A breakdown showed he attended proceedings 29 times in 2019, 14 times in 2020 and zero attendance in 2021.
Ruling on the motion, the speaker declared his seat vacant, saying the lawmaker had failed to meet the requirements to keep his office.
He further said that the absence of the lawmaker from the House proceedings “was without any just cause and should not be allowed to continue”.
He also directed that a bye-election be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within 90 days to elect a new representative for the constituency.
Efforts to reach both lawmakers as at press time did not yield any result.