The House of Representatives appeared to be questioning the validity of the Supreme Court judgment that sacked Herman Hembe and replaced him with Dorothy Mato as the authentic representative of Vandeikya/Konshisha Federal Constituency of Benue state.
More than four weeks after the 23rd June verdict, the House has continued to shift the date for the swearing-in of the new member and has literally fenced the lady out.
The latest is that the woman would be sworn in upon resumption of members from a six week recess. That would translate into a three month delay for the implementation of the Supreme Court verdict.
The statement of the Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Rep. Abdulrazak Namdas buttressed the suspicion that the House may be onto some mischief in not accepting Mato into the Chambers.
“By the time the House resumes from recess, Mato would have completed all the processes for her to be sworn-in as Hembe’s replacement”, said Namdas, who then went on to reveal the true reason behind the House’s action.
Namdas said that the law provided for anyone coming to the House or holding any elective position to pass through election.
“You can’t be sleeping in your house without going through a process and then you go and obtain a court order or ruling to achieve your ambition,” he said.
“Our tenure hasn’t elapsed. We are going on a break and when she is through, we can still swear her in. The recess is a constitutional matter and when we return, we will continue our legislative business,” he added.
The Supreme Court on 23 June’s declared Mato the authentic winner of the March 28, 2015, general elections and the duly elected representative for Vandeikya/Konshisha Federal Constituency.
She is expected to replace Rep. Herman Hembe, the erstwhile Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Capital Territory.
The delay had forced Mato and her supporters to accuse the House leadership of frustrating her attempts to occupy her seat and discharge her responsibilities as an elected lawmaker.
