VPN had earlier this morning learnt that the speaker of the Plateau state House of Assembly had resigned. This evening however VPN can confirm that eighteen members of the Plateau State House of Assembly Friday signed the impeachment of the speaker of the state, Mr. John Clark Dabwan. The members said they have lost confidence in his poor and colourless leadership style. 
 VPN gathererd that on hearing the rumour of his impeachment, the speaker quickly hurried to meet his fellow members and  pleaded with them to rather allow him to resign honourably by Tuesday, October 8, 2013 when the House is expected to reconvene. But, he was warned by members to ensure that the House receives his letter of resignation latest by then. 

However, the Speaker has accused Governor Jonah Jang as the brain behind his travail. A source close to the House said the Speaker may be paying for his mismanagement of the SURE-P fund saga in which the House had allegedly set up a committee to investigate the governor on the fund.

Others said he is paying for his political rivalry with the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Shedrach Best, who incidentally is from the Plateau Central zone with him.

The two seem to always disagree on decisions that concern the zone. Best is believed to have overpowered him, leading to his ousting as the Speaker.

But a source close to the governor, who pleaded anonymity, dismissed Dabwan’s claim that Jang is behind his travail, adding that the Speaker or any other member of the House is not in any way a threat to the Governor.

VPN had earlier this morning learnt that the speaker of the Plateau state House of Assembly had resigned. This evening however VPN can confirm that eighteen members of the Plateau State House of Assembly Friday signed the impeachment of the speaker of the state, Mr. John Clark Dabwan. The members said they have lost confidence in his poor and colourless leadership style. 

VPN gathererd that on hearing the rumour of his impeachment, the speaker quickly hurried to meet his fellow members and  pleaded with them to rather allow him to resign honourably by Tuesday, October 8, 2013 when the House is expected to reconvene. But, he was warned by members to ensure that the House receives his letter of resignation latest by then. 

However, the Speaker has accused Governor Jonah Jang as the brain behind his travail. A source close to the House said the Speaker may be paying for his mismanagement of the SURE-P fund saga in which the House had allegedly set up a committee to investigate the governor on the fund.

Others said he is paying for his political rivalry with the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Shedrach Best, who incidentally is from the Plateau Central zone with him.

The two seem to always disagree on decisions that concern the zone. Best is believed to have overpowered him, leading to his ousting as the Speaker.

But a source close to the governor, who pleaded anonymity, dismissed Dabwan’s claim that Jang is behind his travail, adding that the Speaker or any other member of the House is not in any way a threat to the Governor.

“Why would the Governor want the Speaker out, when neither he nor any other member of the House is a threat to him?
 
“The lawmakers, who have lost confidence in Dabwan’s colourless leadership style, had resolved to remove him, but they felt it was good to inform the Governor of their plans, as a sign of respect; so they approached the Governor and told him. The Governor, in his principled manner did not want to meddle into the affairs of the House. So he allowed them to sort out their problems by themselves,” the source added.
 
VPN also learnt that a meeting between the various stakeholders from the Speaker’s zone, the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the state government officials was hurriedly convened on Friday afternoon, at Government Lodge, Jishe, Jos, to determine the fate of the Speaker and his possible replacement.
 
Meanwhile, the Speaker has allegedly begun to pack his belongings from his official resident located at Tudun Wada Ring Road in preparation for his resignation by Tuesday next week. VPN will report more events as they happen.

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RESIGNATION: The honourable speaker of the plateau state house of assembly quits office.