Speaker Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Matthew Kolawole has been Impeached.

The impeachment was reported Friday afternoon in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

The exercise which was carried out by 19 of the 25 lawmakers who signed the impeachment papers was presided over by the Speaker Pro-Tempro appointed by the group.

The fresh crisis rocking the Assembly according to reliable sources gathered momentum after members accused the House leadership under Kolawole of gross misconduct, financial impropriety, abuse of office, and official high-handedness.

In a press statement released to newsmen on Friday, members alleged that the former speaker obtained frivolous personal loans using the Assembly’s account. This, they described as an illegality which must not be allowed to thrive.

“Mr. Mattew Kolawole used the Kogi State House of Assembly account to collect a personal loan running into Hundreds of millions to the detriment of Members of the House.”

The statement further accused Kolawole of compromising the integrity and sanctity of the Assembly through blackmail and mudslinging of members.

“That the Said Mr. Mattew Kolawole stepped on and diminished the integrity and status of fellow elected members by serially recording meetings and confidential conversations of members with which he maliciously played for the Governor of Kogi State as a tool to blackmail members and destroy the trust and loyalty of members to the Governor overtime.

The lawmakers submitted that the petition justified and met the requirements to initiate the impeachment process against the speaker which also culminated in his removal.

“That all the undersigned 19 members upon being perplexed and vexed at the obvious evil behaviour and machinations of Mr. Mattew Kolawole met and decided to constitutionally impeach the said Mattew Kolawole to wit signatures were collected and the said Mattew Kolawole impeached and a Speaker Pro Tempore duly elected amongst members.

“The standing orders of the Kogi State House of Assembly state that Mondays and Fridays are meant for Committee business and oversight functions and are not plenary days.

“For the business of plenary and by extention resolutions to be effected, a proclamation must be made a minimum of 48 hours before the date of sitting. This then goes to the fact that all the activities of the intimidated and kidnapped members under the impeached Mr. Mattew Kolawole today the 17th day of June, 2022, are null and void ab initio and cannot stand the test of legality.

The aggrieved members pledged their unalloyed loyalty to the governor and his administration in the state, and the All Progressives Congress APC.

“Finally, all undersigned members pledge their unalloyed loyalty to His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello and the party that brought them all to power….the All Progressives Congress. APC.

Earlier today, four principal officers of the Assembly were impeached while suspending three others for alleged gross misconduct.

According to reports, the Kogi lawmakers arrived at the decision after adopting a motion raised by a member of the House representing Dekina II Constituency, Enema Paul, during an emergency sitting held at the Assembly complex in Lokoja.

The session was attended by 17 out of the 25 members of the House.

Those impeached were the Deputy Speaker of the House, Ahmed Mohammed, Majority Leader, Bello Hassan Abdullahi, Deputy Majority Leader, Ndako Idris, and Deputy Chief Whip, Edoko Ododo.

In his presentation, Paul called for the immediate replacement of the impeached officers, saying the House could not afford a vacuum and their replacement was subsequently done.