BY GABRIEL    ENOGHOLASE

BENIN—FACTIONAL Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Mr. Festus Ebea and other Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, legislators were, yesterday, barred by the Police from entering the legislative chambers to attend plenary session.

The Assembly complex was also under lock and key, as workers were barred from entering their offices, just as it was gathered that the police want a joint plenary of the members after a peaceful resolution of the crisis bedevilling the House.
They PDP lawmakers, however sat outside the gate of the Assembly for hours before they adjourned till July 7, 2014

It will be recalled that while the PDP members in the House, including the suspended ones, adjourned their sitting to yesterday, the All Progressives Congress, APC legislators said they would sit on July 2.

The factional Speaker, Mr.  Ebea, who expressed worries over the way the House of Assembly was being run, accused the state government of running the legislature as an appendage of Government House and along party lines, which he lamented, was now jeopardising the collective interests of Edo people.

Ebea said that in the last two months, they had been denied of their salaries and allowances, their official vehicles seized and denied access to their legislative quarters.
On his part, Mr. Friday Ogieriakhi commended the Police and thanked Edo youths and market women for not yielding to Governor Adams Oshiomole’s alleged call to anarchy.

Edo State Police Commissioner, Mr. Folusho Adebanjo, who was on ground to assess the situation, told newsmen that there was need for the lawmakers to be honourable in their deeds and stop the situation from getting out of hand.