Tambuwal: Withdrawal of security aides, un- constitutional — Sen. Abe

Sen. Magnus Abe on Sunday said there was no provision in
the constitution that stipulated removal of security aides
from an elected official upon defection from one party to
another.
Abe, a member of the APC, representing Rivers South-East
Senatorial District, made the statement following the recent
withdrawal of security aides of the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal.
The Senator, while addressing some party faithful and his
constituents on Sunday in Biara community in Gokana Local
Government Area of Rivers, called for the reinstatement of
the security details.
“The constitution of Nigeria is very clear; it is such that a
candidate becomes a Speaker of the House of
Representatives once the candidate is a member of the
House.
“The constitution says that members of the House will elect
one person among members as their Speaker and
Tambuwal was elected Speaker.
“The only way anyone can remove him as Speaker is by 240
House of Reps members agreeing that he (the Speaker)
should be removed,’’ he said.
Abe said that the removal of the security aides was to
unsettle Tambuwal adding that it was impossible to garner
240 majority votes to remove the Speaker.
“Hence the need, by some groups, to cause confusion in the
House and replicate the confusion in the Rivers House of
Assembly.’’
He said that the development, if not rejected by Nigerians,
would take the nation’s democracy backward and further
breed electoral crisis as the country prepared for its general
elections.
“Nigerians should rise up and defend the constitution; they
must make it clear to those violating the constitution that it
is the constitution that will protect Nigerians.
“Tomorrow, when some of us are no longer senators,
governors or the president, we will depend on the
constitution to survive.
“It is therefore the sacred duty of all of us who are elected
under this constitution to respect and obey the
constitution,’’ Abe implored. (NAN)