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• Monday Owigho Igbuya, impeached Delta Assembly speaker

Workers of the Delta State House of Assembly went into ecstasy and wild jubilation in the Assembly complex following today’s wee hour impeachment of Monday Igbuya as Speaker.

The workers both male and female danced joyfully and drank in toast to the exit of Igbuya, whose tenure as Speaker they claimed was a nightmare.

“No common A4 plain paper can be found in any office in the complex,” on e female staff told banneronlinenews.com, adding: “Look at the grass in the Assembly complex as staff had to be using machetes to cut the grass. Rather than provide the usual lawn mowers to do the job, he confiscated all the lawn mowers and moved them out of complex, converting to personal use.”

Another said: “This is God’s answer to the prayer of workers of the Assembly. Under Igbuya’s speakership we suffered, as he denied us our entitlements. He was not workers friendly. Any speaker who will deny workers their entitlements will be removed.”

Banneronline.com gathered that many factors coalesced in putting Igbuya away as Speaker. According to sources, the lawmakers had been displeased with the leadership style of Igbuya, with a temperament that is insensitive to other people’s opinions.  They were not comfortable with his high-handed disposition to issues, in which they saw him a man with too high an opinion of himself with little understanding for others.

Also, sources hinted that the popularity and integrity of the Delta House of Assembly plunged to it lowest under the leadership of Monday Owigho Igbuya. An example is made of the recurring recourse of the workers to go on strike at will because the House leadership under Igbuya was always insensitive to the workers’ demands thereby portraying the lawmakers as people that have no welfare of the workers at heart. Even the aides to the lawmakers were equally expressing joy in the eventual removal of Igbuya as speaker.

It was further learnt that another major grouse against Igbuya’s leadership of the House is his handling of the appointment of a deputy clerk of the House. Sources claimed that Igbuya failed to follow the law made by the Assembly in consideration of the appointment of a deputy clerk. Instead, he is alleged to have allowed primordial interest to influence his choice of deputy clerk when he ignored the extant rules and went to appoint a very junior staff as preference over a generation staffs that were well ahead in seniority over the junior staff.

The appointment did not go down well with the generality of staffs who saw the appointment of a junior staff over his seniors as improper and a negation of even the law made by the Assembly.

In a letter addressed to Igbuya as speaker on 31^st March, 2017 by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), Comrade Edozie Emmanuel and Secretary Comrade Emmanuel Osubor frowned at the process, choice and manner in which the offending deputy clerk was nominated, selected and confirmed as deputy clerk. “Reason being that the officer in question is not qualified to be nominated and selected, talk more of confirmation,” PASAN stated.

It continued: “You are aware sir, that the Legislature is an arm of government that makes laws for observance, compliance and guidance. It is this function of hers that has made the Legislature the first arm of government. This Honourable House enacted a law to make provision for the establishment of the Delta State House of assembly Service Commission and for the appointment of the clerk and staff of the Delta State House of Assembly Service commission and for other matters connected therewith, and it was duly assented to by the Governor on 4^th day of May, 2013.”

They union drew attention to section 13 (3) which states the criteria for the appointment of a deputy clerk. The section state: “The Deputy Clerk shall be a person with not less than 14 years working experience in the House and not below salary grade level 14.”

The Union leaders had called Igbuya’s attention to the fact that this law is still in force, and has neither been suspended nor repealed, pointing out that the appointment of the officer selected and confirmed as deputy clerk is a negation of the extant law of Delta State House of Assembly.

“ Reason being that available records of service reveal that this said officer is not yet qualified for the position, as he was employed into service on the 1^st of March, 2004, and therefore has not attained the required number of years which is ‘not less than 14 years in service’.”

PASAN posited that the person selected as deputy clerk and appointed “ is junior to a handful of officers in Delta State House of Assembly Service Commission from the same senatorial district as himself/different senatorial district  is irregular and brewing disharmony, acrimony and frustration.”

The Union stressed that it is not in any way interested in who is appointed as deputy clerk provided that the speaker in-council selects from amongst the qualified staff of the commission.

“It is our stand and strong belief that the Legislature and its leadership are a roadmap of modesty, honesty and conscientiousness, hence we call on the Speaker and Principal Officers of the House to, as a matter of urgency, correct this anomaly and have recourse to the law of the Legislature and nominal roll to appoint a qualified officer as Deputy Clerk for the Legislature,” PASAN stated.

Banneronlinenews.com gathered that the issues raised above by PASAN were ignored by Igbuya despite the indignation expressed. The issue affected the senior staff of the House of Assembly, some of who stayed away from work because they felt they could not take orders from their junior in service.