I didn’t bribe lawmakers to impeach my deputy – Emeziem, Imo Speaker

The dust stirred by the Tuesday impeachment of the former deputy speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu,  is yet to settle.

This time, Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Paul Emeziem, has absolved himself of culpability in the development.

Emeziem described reports linking him to the matter and that he induced the lawmakers by giving them N10m each, as mischievous, malicious and baseless.

The former deputy speaker, aka Mr. Capacity, was sacked after a resolution signed by 18 members of the House was read on the floor  by the speaker.

In a press release by his Chief Press Secretary, Collins Osuji,  the speaker said the allegation against him is also laughable, misleading and childish, describing it as orchestration of his enemies to impugn his reputation and the House.

“The attention of the office of the Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Paul Emeziem has been drawn to the fictitious, malicious and baseless reports trending on some sections of the social media regarding the removal of the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu.

“The Speaker, as the chief servant of the House, as required by ethics and law guiding the state Assembly, only made the pronouncement after acknowledging that the resolution received endorsement of the far majority of the House members.”

“But against the ‘factuality’ of what transpired, the mischief makers, sponsored by known elements, have taken to social media platforms to dish out lies aimed at maligning the personality and integrity of the Speaker and the other members of the House.”

The speaker urged the public to ignore the report and restated his loyalty and support to the government of Senator Hope Uzodinma. He denied insinuation that the House had be bought over to work against the state governor.The release further read: “Also, that the Speaker and the members were bought over by some known politicians in the state to carry out the decision and by extension destabilize the state government led by His Excellency, Dist. Sen. Hope Uzodinma was nowhere near the truth and should totally be disregarded.

“We, therefore, want to use this medium to appeal to the Imolites and the general public to treat the trending misleading and lie-infested reports with levity as they can only come from a power drunk or drowning person or persons