The plot to impeach the Speaker of the Bayelsa Assembly, Tonye Emmanuel Isenah, has thickened following his refusal to step down against the directive of Governor Seriake Dickson and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders.
It was gathered that lawmakers loyal to the governor and the PDP had been mobilised to carry out an impeachment proceeding against Isenah, who had insisted that his resignation would not add any value to the PDP’s quest to win the November 16th gubernatorial election.
It was learnt that external forces powered by the opposition were planning to provide protection to Isenah to enable him retain his office.
Some of the lawmakers were also said to be against the move to remove the speaker, whom they described as a good jolly fellow and had vowed to stand against any motion in the House to actualise the plot, The Nation Newspaper reports.
Isenah was said to have tried to convene a sitting of the House on Monday with a plan to discuss some issues and adjourn the House for a recess till further notice.
But PDP leaders, who got wind of the development, reportedly prevailed on their loyal lawmakers not to attend the sitting, which failed to hold for lack of capacity to form a quorum.
Isenah came under intense pressure to relinquish his office in the House of Assembly to enable his party balance political equations ahead of the November 16 governorship election.
The Speaker was said to have reached an agreement with Dickson and other PDP leaders to vacate his office in the event that Senator Douye Diri, who hails from his Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, emerged the candidate of the PDP for the election.
Following the emergence of Diri, PDP leaders were said to have asked Isenah to surrender his position to another lawmaker from Southern Ijaw to enable the party garner votes from the council.
But Isenah was said to have insisted that he would not let go of his position before the governorship poll.
The speaker in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Aotendeike Boloigha, said he had served the PDP faithfully and had yet to see how his resignation would help the party in the forthcoming poll.