Embattled Cross River Assembly Speaker Rejects Impeachment

The embattled Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, has dismissed his purported impeachment from office, insisting that he remains the leader of the legislative House.

It was understood that Ayambem was impeached by 17 out of 25 members of the Cross River State House of Assembly during plenary on Wednesday.

However, the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Matthew Okache, in a statement made available to newsmen, described what happened during Wednesday’s plenary as a “ridiculous charade with no constitutional basis.”

He said the House was not aware of any impeachment notice being served to anyone before what happened during Wednesday’s plenary.

While insisting that the impeachment and replacement are speculative, Okache urged the general public to dismiss what he described as fake news and dismiss any notion of a crisis.

The statement read, “The Cross River State House of Assembly has been alerted to false news reports that the Cross River State House of Assembly Speaker, Rt Hon. Elvert Ayambem has been impeached.

“To be clear, the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly is without a doubt Rt. Hon Elvert Ayambem, and that is the current position. What happened earlier today (Wednesday) during the plenary, when Hon. Effiong Akarika, a member representing Calabar South 1, disrupted the session by inviting hoodlums to enter the chamber, which is a ridiculous charade with no constitutional basis.

“The House of Assembly is not aware of any impeachment notices being served to anyone before the frivolous act as witnessed at the chambers. The alleged impeachment and9 replacement are speculative, and the general public is urged to disregard fake news and dismiss any notion of a crisis. The status quo is that Rt Hon Elvert Ayambem is the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

“Mr. Speaker, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem remains unconcerned and determined to elevate the Cross River State House of Assembly and support the executive arm of government, led by His Excellency, Sen. Prince Bassey Edet Otu, in achieving the people’s first mantra.

“Also note that the removal of the speaker and election is not done anywhere but within precient of the Assembly Complex.”