By Anayo Okoli

UMUAHIA—ALL Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Abia State, has warned the new governor of the state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, not to start a constitutional crisis in the state by carrying out an alleged plan to suspend inauguration of the legislature next Monday.

The party warned that such crisis would affect the development of the state and described it as an aberration.

APGA’s warning followed an announcement which the state radio, BCA, had been airing for some days now to the effect that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu would not inaugurate the 6th Abia House on Monday because INEC had not issued Certificates of Return to all the  24 members of the House elected in last April’s general elections.

The announcement was signed by the Clerk of the State House of Assembly, Mr. John  Irokansi.

The statement said the inauguration was suspended indefinitely and that the inauguration could only be done when all the 24 House members got their authenticated Certificate of Return.

The life of the 5th Abia House of Assembly, now under the speakership of Alwell Asiforo Okere, will officially come to an end on June 8, and the governor is expected to inaugurate a new House to work with him.

But in a swift reaction to the statement, APGA, the main opposition party in the state, denounced such action as an aberration, and warned that the governor had no power to suspend the inauguration of the state legislature.

The new state chairman of the party, Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, said the governor had no power to suspend the inauguration of the House of Assembly once the life of the current House came to an end next Monday.

Ehiemere explained that all the elected new House of Assembly members had received their Certificate of Returns from INEC, except Isiala Ngwa South Constituency where fire gutted INEC office and materials and no body was declared winner of the election.

Also, a senior lawyer and former chairman of Aba branch of NBA, Mr. Uche Awah, said the governor had no constitutional power to suspend the inauguration of the new House after the life of the present House expired.

Awah said: “Once the life of House comes to an end, he must inaugurate a new House; you don’t create a vacuum in government. He does not have the power not to inaugurate.”

The APGA chairman said information reaching them was that Governor Ikpeazu had suspended the inauguration, saying that  APGA totally rejected the action because it was unconstitutional.

Showing its disdain for the alleged plan to suspend the inauguration, the party warned that “ordinarily, His Excellency is swimming in the ocean of hot water,” saying after  June 7, he could no longer operate with the current House.

“We are saying that it is an aberration because every other state in the country would inaugurate their legislature, Monday.