House of Representatives

Onwuka Nzeshi in  Abuja

Barely 24 hours after it claimed to have uncovered a plot to unseat its leadership, the House of Representatives has declared that  it was not interested in any further inquest into the identities of those behind the alleged plot.
Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Zakary Mohammed, made the declaration at the maiden weekly media briefing for the year.

Mohammed who evaded probing questions on the authenticity of the claims of the House that there was an impeachment plot, said the important thing was that the House had been able to overcome the challenge.
According to him, the whole episode had given the lawmakers an opportunity to re-affirm their support in the Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, and the entire  leadership. Mohammed said  the 360 members of the House elected  the current leadership and would continue to stand by them at all times.

He denied the speculations that the entire impeachment episode may have been a hoax created by the House to test the political  waters after taking tough positions against the executive last year.
On reports that the House held some   
meetings on Wednesday night to calm down the unknown aggrieved lawmakers plotting to topple the system, Mohammed said there were meetings of some party caucuses to strategise on how to run their affairs in the new year.

He said having just returned from break, the lawmakers needed to plan for the year to avoid drifting away from its priorities.

The House was at loggerheads with the Presidency for most of last year and took several rather populist positions that were perceived to be against the executive arm of government.

Stemming from this antagonistic posture,  there were fears among the parliamentarians that the presidency might sponsor an internal  revolt to break their ranks.

Since the reports of the alleged impeachment broke out on Wednesday, there have also been speculations that the leadership of the House had engaged some spin doctors in the media to fly a kite about an impeachment to attract public sympathy. 

However, the spokesman of the House denied that the House had anything to do with the stories and challenged the media houses that published the alleged plot to prove its authenticity and  expose  those behind it.
The House had reacted to the rumoured plot to impeach its leadership on Wednesday, condemning the said plot and passing a vote of confidence on Tambuwal and his team.