POLITICS
Rep Ikwechegh to Face Reps’ Ethics Panel for Assaulting Bolt Driver
By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja
The House of Representatives on Tuesday directed its Ethics and Privileges Committee, to investigate its member, Alex Mascot Ikwechegh, over allegations of assault on an e-hailing driver.
The directives followed the adoption of a motion on a Matter of Privilege, Pursuant to Order 6 of the House Rule, brought before the House by the Leader, Prof Julius Ihonvbere at plenary.
Ihonvbere while raising a matter of privilege drew attention of the House to the trending video and report over the encounter between a member and a Bolt driver.
The House Leader informed the parliament that over the last few hours, he had been inundated with calls and messages from across the country over the case of alleged assault by Rep Ikwechegh against a Bolt driver.
He said as Leader of the House, he has the responsibility to protect the collective image and integrity of the parliament.
Ihonvbere said the action of the members of the House as captured in the trending video did not reflect the image and culture of the House.
The Leader said as members of the House of Representatives from diverse backgrounds, they have built their reputations overtime before coming to the parliament and that the action of the lawmaker impugned on the collective integrity and image of the House.
Ihonvbere averred that Order 5 (E) of the House Rule stipulated how the matter at hand should be handled and therefore, moved that the matter be referred to the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges to investigate and report to the House for further legislative actions.
The motion was unanimously adopted when it was put to a voice vote by the presiding officer and Deputy Speaker, Rep Benjamin Okezie Kalu.
Kalu, while ruling on the motion, mandated the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to investigate the matter and report back within two weeks.
The Maitama Police in Abuja has received a complaint against the Reps Member, Ikwechegh, who was said to be undergoing questioning.
In a statement on Monday, the Command said the Bolt driver Stephen Abuwatseya reported the matter to the Command.
In a now-viral video, the House of Representatives member was seen slapping and raining insults on the Bolt driver, insisting that he would not pay for his well-delivered services.
Ikwechegh represents Aba North and South Federal Constituency in the Green Chamber on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
A furious Ikwechegh was captured in the video in casual wear as he lounged in his compound within the FCT on Sunday evening.
Going by the conversation recorded in the viral video, the lawmaker had ordered some snails from a vendor who engaged the services of the e-hailing App driver to deliver the goods.
A heated disagreement ensued when the Bolt driver, Stephen Abuwatseya, arrived at the lawmaker’s residence and asked to be paid.
The angry client was heard speaking with a woman saying, “how can this stupid idiot come to me and tell me that I am supposed to come and meet him in his car and pick up a snail I am buying from you? I can make this man disappear in the whole of Nigeria and nothing will happen.”
Ikwechegh further faced Abuwatseya and said, “You will not get a penny from me with this level of disrespect. You will suffer, I will deal with you.”
The APGA lawmaker fulfilled his threat and thudded two slaps on the cheeks of the driver who maintained his composure in the face of the assault.
To capture that he had been slapped, the Bolt driver asked, “Are you slapping me, sir?”
“I just did, slap me back. How dare you?” the lawmaker angrily retorted.
The Bolt driver asked again, “Did you slap me thrice sir?”
The Lawmaker replied, “Twice, you will soon receive the third one.”
When alerted that the episode was recorded, the lawmaker told the driver: “My name is Honourable Alexander Mascot Ikwechegh, I am a member of the House of Reps, tell them. Call the Inspector General of Police, let him come.”
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Kogi State House of Assembly has appealed to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo to consider the renovation of Abejukolo General Hospital, Basic Healthcare and Educational facilities affected by the recent crisis in Omala Local Government Area of the State.The lawmakers made the appeal during the House plenary sitting on Thursday in a motion moved by the lawmaker representing Omala State Constituency, Hon Umar Yahaya.
Umar Yahaya also demanded for the commendation of Governor Ododo for deploying Joint Security Personnel’s to the crisis areas of Omala urging the government to put in place measures for rebuilding of facilities in the devastated communities. According to him, this would ensure that those returning residents who were affected by the crisis have access to medical care and educational opportunities, particularly as people have started going back to resettle in their ancestral homes due to improved security.He appealed to the Kogi State Government to prioritize the rebuilding of the communities affected by these repeated attacks, specifically Bagana, Agojeju-Odoh, Agbenema, Iyade and other villages within Omala Local Government.Yahaya seized the opportunity to request the leadership of the house to mandate its Peace and Security Committee or any other Committee of the house to provide oversight to ensure the continuation and completion of these restoration projects, recognizing the immediate needs and the right of the affected communities to resume normalcy, dignity, and safety in their daily lives.Seconding the motion, Hon. Usman Ochidi, member representing Dekina/Biraidu State Constituency noted that the cardinal responsibility of any government is to provide adequate security for his people. “We are all aware of what happened in Omala before his Excellency’s visit. After then, peace has finally returned to the crisis area. This is a welcome development and we must appreciate Governor Ododo. The Governor should help us to provide all the social amenities, especially the hospital for the affected victims in the crisis area to return to their homes”.On his part, Olawunmi Jacob from Mopa-Muro State Constituency while aligning himself with the prayers outlined by the mover of the motion said peace remains a factor for development in any society.Major Enefola, lawmaker representing Igalamela Odolu Constituency also commended the joint security task force for their proactive measures and efforts in maintaining peace in the areaHe wanted the Kogi State Government to replicate the deployment of Joint Security Personnel’s in other crisis prone areas in Kogi State.Explaining further, the lawmaker said “It is very disheartening to wake up and witness the needless deaths of our citizens. This must stop”.Adding his voice, the member representing Adavi State Constituency Hon. Asema Baba Haruna while commending the mover of the motion prayed that such ugly incident will not happen again in the State.The member representing Ajaokuta State Constituency Hon. Abu Onoru-Oiza Jibrin said the construction of the health sector is pivotal in reawakening any community. “The renovation of Abejukolo hospital is very key for the people while we are also aware that other things are important,” he added.In his contributions, the member representing Lokoja I State Constituency Hon. Bin-Ebaiya Shehu Tijani also joined his colleagues in commending the State Government for the swift response in restoring peace in the affected crisis areas.Ruling on the motion, the Deputy Speaker of the House Rt. Hon. Comfort Ojoma Nwuchiola Egwaba who presided over the plenary thanked Governor Ododo for fulfilling his commitments in restoring peace in Agojeju-Odoh and its environs.
The leadership of Labour Party (LP) says Ms Oluchi Oparah, its former National Treasurer, is not the National Woman Leader of the party.
This is contained in a statement by issued the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Obiora Ifoh, on Thursday in Abuja.
Ifoh said that Oparah was suspended indefinitely in November 2023 as a member of Labour Party for alleged anti-party activities, adding that her suspension is still subsisting.
He said that Oparah was never the national woman leader of the party and that she had never contested to be one at any point in time.
“A person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others is an impostor.
“Therefore, her recent actions, using the office of the National Woman Leader of the Labour Party to seek pecuniary patronage amount to impersonation.
“This development has immensely embarrassed the Labour Party, hence this disclaimer,” he said.
According to him, the national woman leader of the party is Mrs Dudu Manuga.
“She alone is constitutionally mandated to oversee the activities of millions of Labour Party women in Nigeria and across the globe.
“We are, by this disclaimer, alerting organisations including the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), The Kukah Foundation, Non-Governmental Organisations, political associations, National Assembly, and security agencies to be aware of her dubious activities,” he said.
Ifoh warned any individual or organisation being approached by Oparah to contact the police immediately. (NAN)
Chairman of Cross River Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC), Dr Ekong Boco, says 10 political parties will be participating in the Saturday local government elections.
Boco stated this on Thursday in Calabar during the commencement of distribution of sensitive materials to all the 18 local government areas in the state.
He, however, debunked the speculations that the materials had already been sent to the council areas.
Boco, who showed everyone the ballot papers before the commencement of distribution, urged political parties to keep supporting the commission until the election was ‘done and dusted’ on Saturday.
“We will be using 3,281 polling units, as approved by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 9,843 ad-hoc staff, 460 supervisors, 18 returning officers and 198 collation officers,” he said.
The CROSIEC chairman said that all the ad-hoc staff were trained from Oct. 25 to Oct. 27, including the returning officers and ward collation officers, expressing the hope that they would conduct themselves well during the exercise.
“We want everyone to see that the process is transparent and the commission is clean,” he said.
Boco further stated that the voting, which would be manual, would commence by 8 a.m. and end by 2 p.m.
In his remarks, the State Chairman of Inter party Advisory Council (IPAC), Mr Effiom Edet, said that the council had observed the process by the commission, expressing the confidence that the election would be free, fair and credible.
“We have not noticed in anyway where results were signed for any political party and so we want to let the people know that something like that cannot happen,” he said.
Report says that Friday has been declared public holiday by the state government to ensure effective preparation for the polls. (NAN)
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