Court Orders Police to Vacate Enugu Assembly Complex

Governor Sullivan Chime

As Chime denies allegation of forgery of N12 billion budget

Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu

The crisis in Enugu State House Assembly degenerated further monday as the Federal High Court sitting in Enugu ordered the Police to vacate state House of Assembly complex.

The order subsists pending the determination of a suit brought by the Speaker, Eugene Odo, on behalf of 15 members of the House who issued an impeachment notice against Governor Sullivan Chime last week Monday.

The court presided over by Justice D.V. Agishi also restrained the police from curtailing the personal liberty of the speaker.
This is coming as the Enugu State government dismissed as baseless and legally untenable, allegations by some members of the State House of Assembly loyal to Odoh, claiming that the government was in breach of the constitution when it applied the process popularly known in the public service as “virement” to reallocate funds funds in the 2012 budget.

A statement signed by Chukwudi Achife, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Sullivan Chime, said those making the allegations were either ignorant of the law and the facts surrounding the matter or merely blackmailing the government for ulterior reasons.
Achife contended that there was nothing unconstitutional about virement more so when the House had on its own, approved the adjustments made by the executive in that year’s budget.

But, on its part, the Court in Enugu ordered that policemen should not be seen around the House of Assembly complex except at points determined by the speaker.
It further ordered that the speaker and other 15 members of the House should be allowed to have access to the legislative complex, particularly the chambers.


The orders were made in an interim injunction granted in favour of the speaker who filed a suit before the court on behalf of 15 members of the House.

The respondents in the suit are the eight members of the House loyal to Governor Chime and the Nigerian Police.

Justice Agishi adjourned the matter to May 19 for further hearing.

Explaining further, Achife disclosed that after the 2012 appropriation bill was signed into Law, the government saw reason to reallocate within the budget and duly applied by way of a Supplementary Bill to the House for approval.

He said that the supplementary bill which neither added nor removed any money to the original budget sum of N76. 4 billion was promptly approved by the House, adding that the Executive also reflected the supplementary bill in the 2013 budget which the House passed without question.

Achife expressed surprise that Odo and his group, apparently in a bid to blackmail the governor and deceive the public, could turn round to say that the bill was forged.

He said, “It is certainly shocking that honourable members could so brazenly claim that a supplementary bill that they had passed was forged even when the bill is a public document that anyone can access. It must be emphasised that not one kobo was added or removed from the original budget, the supplementary budget was basically an application to reallocate funds within the original budget as had been passed by the House. How it becomes unconstitutional certainly defies reason and the law.”

Achife urged the public to discountenance such false claims, noting that some “habitual detractors of the governor who had been championing the claims, would be disappointed to learn they have been dissipating energy unnecessarily.”