[News] The Speaker risks a jail term for declaring my seat vacant – Sacked Imo lawmaker tackles Speaker

Sacked Imo lawmaker, Obinna Okwara has stated that speaker of the state house of assembly, Kennedy Ibe, has no constitutional power to declare his seat in the parliament vacant.

LIB reported earlier that Okwara’s seat was declared vacant by Ibe during a plenary on Wednesday April 6, after he defected to the Peoples Democratic Party from the All Progressives Congress last week.

Reacting to this, the lawmaker stated that the speaker should first declare his own seat vacant for defecting to three political parties in four political outings in three years.

Okwara noted that Ibe risks going to jail as there are five suits at the Federal High Court in Owerri challenging the defection of 17 out of the 27 Imo lawmakers from the PDP to the APC.

The sacked lawmaker said;

“The Speaker risks a jail term for declaring my seat vacant. The matter he dabbled into is sub judice. There are five suits at the Federal High Court in Owerri challenging the defection of 17 out of the 27 Imo lawmakers from the PDP to the APC.

“We are lawmakers, we don’t interpret the laws. The courts do. He who goes to the equity must go with clean hands. The speaker should first declare his own seat vacant for defecting to three political parties in four political outings in three years.

“He was sponsored by Action Alliance for his re-election in 2019. Shortly after his inauguration, he joined the PDP when Emeka Ihedioha was the governor. Immediately Hope Uzodinma came on board, he joined the APC. Just look at the kettle calling the pot black.

“You don’t keep something on nothing and expect it to stand. Who is even the complainant in this matter? Did I write any letter to the House announcing my defection to the PDP? This is a parliament that suspended me for attending the burial ceremony of Uche Nwosu’s mother in December.

“I will go to court for the interpretation of Section 109 which he relied on to declare my seat vacant. He doesn’t have the right. He has shot himself in the foot and I am not moved by his shenanigans.”