Edo Assembly suspends minority whip

Uchechukwu Olisah, Benin City - 30.06.2009

The Edo State House of Assembly has suspended the Minority Whip of the House, Mr. Phillip Shuaibu, from the Principal Officers Council, over alleged disparaging press comments against the House and its leadership.

Shuaibu’s suspension was sequel to a motion moved by Mr. Chris Umogbai, a member representing Estako Central constituency in the House. Mr. Blessing Agbebaku, the member representing Owan West constituency in the 24-member assembly seconded the motion.

The Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Frank Okiye, had, under matters of urgent public importance, drew the attention of the House to a press interview purportedly granted by Shuaibu, where the now suspended Minority Whip was quoted as saying that “the Speaker, Honourable Zakawanu Garuba, is deceiving us.”

According to Okiye, the alleged comment was capable of inciting the executive arm of government, as well as swaying public opinion, against the House and its leadership.

Meanwhile, the Speaker has referred the matter to the Standing Committee of the House on Ethics and Privileges, which has one week to submit its report.

The committee’s terms of reference, among others, included the determination of whether the statement that the Speaker deceived the House did not amount to disparaging and ridiculing both the office of the Speaker and the entire state House of Assembly.

The committee was also to determine whether a comment in a derogatory manner to the extent that the Edo State House of Assembly was now a House of resolution was a compliment or meant to disparage the parliament, and whether the regular practice of going to the press by the member representing Estako West 11 was to discredit the House.