Crisis: Police cordon off Anambra Assembly complex

The House is expected to resume sitting on Thursday after its crisis which began on Tuesday over attempt to impeach the Speaker, Mrs Rita Nmaduagwu. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that policemen were stationed at Ekwueme Square, NULGE Secretariat Junction and barricaded roads leading to the Complex with patrol trucks. Workers in Anambra Universal Basic Education Board, Independent National Electoral Commission and the High Court, all within the assembly area were forced by the police to disembark from commercial vehicles and walk. Those in private vehicles were thoroughly screened to establish their identities and destinations while some vehicles were diverted from the area. Some members of assembly on Tuesday purportedly impeached the Speaker and elected Ikem Uzozie as her replacement. The attempt which was reportedly botched has since split the house into two factions as Mmaduagwu insisted that her purported removal was invalid. Police spokesman in the command, SP Mohammed Haruna, did not take calls or respond to messages to his phone on enquiries over the deployment of personnel in the assembly area. A source close to the assembly, however, told NAN that Thursday’s sitting may have been shelved to give room for more consultations and reconciliation among the lawmakers and other stakeholders. NAN]]>