Imo deputy speaker resigns, 9 Lawmakers defect to APC

The Deputy Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Okey Onyekanma, has resigned.

Punch Newspaper is reporting that his letter of resignation was read by the speaker of the house during plenary on Tuesday.

Onyekanma equally resigned as the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business.

The plenary is currently ongoing. Meanwhile, Nine lawmakers of the Imo State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, defected to the All Progressives Congress from Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, and Action Action.

The lawmakers who defected are Authur Egwim (Ideato North) from AA to APC; Chyna Iwuanyanwu(Nwangele), PDP; Chidiebere Ogbunikpa(Okigwe), PDP; Obinna Okwara(Nkwerre), AA; and Paul Emeziem (Onuimo) also from PDP to APC.

Others are Ekene Nnodimele (Orsu) from APGA to APC, Johnson Duru (Ideato South), AA; Ngozi Obiefule (Isu) AA; and Heclus Okorocha (Ohaji/Egbema) from PDP to APC.

The speaker, Collins Chiji, read their letters of defection on Tuesday.

NewsWireNGR recalls that the Imo Governor Hope Uzodinma had raised the alarm over a secret plan by the opposition’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to incite the members of the House of Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.

The Governor warned PDP members in the state to desist from false propaganda, mischief-making and malice against him or face the wrath of the law.

Uzodinma’s alarm and warning followed some media reports that the Federal Government has failed to make any comment on his alleged $ 12 m (N 4.3 bn) fraud case as well as the travel ban on him.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to him, Oguike Nwachukwu, Uzodinma accused the PDP of sponsoring the media report to incite the publuc and members of the state House of Assembly to impeach him.

“We know the game plan of the PDP because we are aware that they have been secretly inciting Imo State House of Assembly members to think of how to impeach the governor. So they are trying to rake up anything they can, even falsehood, to incite the public,” the statement reads.