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Tag: Cross River Assembly

  • JUST IN: Police occupy Cross River Assembly amid impeachment saga

    JUST IN: Police occupy Cross River Assembly amid impeachment saga

    …Assembly Mace’s whereabouts remains unknown

    The Cross River Police Command has temporarily shut down the State House of Assembly following the removal of Honourable Alvert Ayambem as the speaker.

    The shutdown was to prevent factions of lawmakers from conducting any activities on the premises, to deter potential thuggery, maintain law and order, and protect government property, according to sources.

    Security personnel are stationed at the entrance and within the House, and all Assembly staff have been ordered to leave the premises by Police Commissioner CP Gyogon Grimah.

    The Assembly was closed on Wednesday, May 22, by the State Police Commissioner after widespread reports of Honorable Alvert Ayambem’s removal as Speaker.

    Read Also: BREAKING: Cross River Assembly impeaches speaker Ayambem

    The whereabouts of the Assembly Mace remain undisclosed, but the premises are calm and under tight security

    Confirming the Assembly shutdown, Police Public Relations Officer, SP Irene Ugbo, said: “For now the Assembly is shut down. Normalcy has returned, unlike yesterday when there was paranormal.

    “They are politicians and they make their decisions. Ours is to protect lives and properties and make sure no hoodlums come and disorganize the place. Our men are on the ground and we are in charge of the area.”

    Ayambem’s removal has elicited numerous reactions across the state. Since yesterday, the House has not yet announced a new speaker for the 10th Cross River State House of Assembly.

  • I remain speaker of Cross River Assembly, Ayambem insists

    I remain speaker of Cross River Assembly, Ayambem insists

    The embattled speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, has stated that he remains the Assembly’s speaker, despite being impeached by seventeen members who had already signed a notice of his impeachment.

    The motion for his removal was moved on the floor of the House by the member representing Calabar South 1, Effiong Ekarika, and seconded by Charles Omang.

    However, he described the process as unlawful in a statement released on Wednesday by his chief press secretary, Matthew Okache.

    Okache said that Akarika, the person who proposed Ayambem’s impeachment, had disturbed the meeting by “inviting hoodlums to enter the chamber.”

    The statement read: “The Cross River State House of Assembly has been alerted to false news reports that the Speaker, Elvert Ayambem, has been impeached.

    Read Also: BREAKING: DSS, others storm Cross River Assembly over impeachment

    “To be clear, the speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly is, without a doubt, Elvert Ayambem. He is in the current position. What happened earlier today (Wednesday) during the plenary, when Effiong Akarika, a member representing Calabar South 1, disrupted the session by inviting hoodlums to enter the chamber, is a ridiculous charade with no constitutional basis.

    “The House of Assembly is not aware of any impeachment notices being served to anyone before the frivolous act as witnessed at the chambers. The alleged impeachment and replacement are speculative, and the general public is urged to disregard fake news and dismiss any notion of a crisis. The status quo is that Elvert Ayambem is the Speaker of the House of Assembly.”

    The embattled, however, said he is unfazed by the impeachment and determined to elevate the assembly and Governor Bassey Otu’s administration.

  • BREAKING: Cross River Assembly impeaches speaker Ayambem

    BREAKING: Cross River Assembly impeaches speaker Ayambem

    The Cross River State House of Assembly has impeached its speaker, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ekom Ayambem.

    Ayambem, who represents Ikom 2 State Constituency in the Assembly, was impeached on Wednesday, May 22, by 17 members of the House over allegations of misappropriation of funds.

    Read Also: Oyo Assembly okays Makinde’s request to take N10b loan

    The impeachment motion was moved by Hon. Effiom Ekarika representing Calabar South 1 Constituency and seconded by Hon. Omang Charles Omang representing Bekwarra State Constituency.

    Ayambem was elected speaker of the 10th Cross River State House of Assembly in June 2023.

    Details shortly…

  • Cross River Assembly recovers state-owned vehicles in custody of ex-govt officials

    Cross River Assembly recovers state-owned vehicles in custody of ex-govt officials

    An investigation by the Cross River State of Assembly into an alleged missing and misappropriation of 34 heavy-duty construction equipment and vehicles owned by the state government has yielded positive outcomes with the recovery of seven number of the missing equipment.

    The recovered vehicles and equipment have been returned to the state capital and are expected to be conveyed back to the state capital.

    Speaker of the State Assembly Hon. Elvert Ayambem who spoke on the asset recovery investigation noted that the legislature was not into any form of witch-hunting but honest effort to do what is right and protect our common patrimony.

    He said it is regrettable that the state government invested in the purchase of heavy-duty equipment and vehicles, but some privileged officials would take custody of the items, keep them away from the succeeding administration, leaving the state in a position of wanting to purchase what they already have.

    The current price and value of those recovered equipment and vehicles show that the effort of the legislature has saved the state over N50 billion.

    He pleaded for support from while meaning citizens of the state to simply advise anyone connected to the missing assets of the government to voluntarily return them rather than cause the legislature to apply its powers on the suspects.

    Hon. Elvert Ayambem clarified that while 23 heavy-duty trucks and equipment remain on the site to be transported back to Calabar, 7 of the equipment have been successfully recovered to Calabar.

    Those recovered and taken into the State’s custody include one 1050k Dozzer; one payloader; One Grader; one 850J Dozer, one Backo, and 2 Excavators.

    Recall that on Thursday 22 February 2024, the House of Assembly unanimously reaffirmed their commitment to the recovery of the construction equipment and demanded that the perpetrators of this fraudulent scheme face justice.

    Similarly, the State Governor has given tacit support to the efforts of the legislature pledging that his administration is committed to getting back state assets that were acquired wrongly; particularly some state-owned agricultural estates that yield no gain to the state currently.

    “We need to get the estate working in order to engage our youths and get them to be productive; because going back to land is the best alternative in productively empowering our youths.” Governor Bassey Otu said.

    The finding reveals that many assets of the state government are still in the custody of appointees of the immediate past administration and only a few are cooperating with the effort of the current administration to return voluntarily things that are in their possession.