Seventeen members-elect of the Edo State House of Assembly are currently being sworn in by deputy clerk of the Edo Assembly, 9news Nigeria report.
The event is taken place at an undisclosed location within Benin City following the ‘destruction’ of the Assembly complex on the alleged orders of Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Out of the 17 lawmakers, 14 are members-elect who were previously bypassed when the Governor proclaimed the Assembly in a controversial manner that saw the inauguration of 10 members of the 24-member House.
Three lawmakers loyal to the Obaseki course recently dumped the governor, pledging loyalty to the APC and its governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, refusing to decamp to the PDP with Obaseki.
Earlier, heavy duty trucks from Government House were seen heaping sand, granite and other construction materials at both the entrance and exit gates of the Assembly to prevent forced entry.
The roofs of the Edo Assembly complex were also forcefully removed on the alleged orders of Governor Obaseki, under the guise that they were old and needed to be replaced over the next few months.
