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The House of Representatives on Thursday recalled two
apologetic members who were once members of the minority group known as
Progressives.

The House adopted the recommendation of its ethics
and privileges committee which advised that Austin Nwachukwu (PDP Imo
state) and Gbenga Oduwaye (PDP Ogun state) be recalled at the mercy of
the House. While Mr. Nwachukwu took a newspaper advert to apologise to
the House and its leadership for his involvement in the group, Mr.
Oduwaye petitioned the committee denying membership of the anti-speaker
group.

The deputy speaker, Usman Nafada, who presided the
plenary on Thursday, argued that Mr. Oduwaye acted like a gentleman on
June 9 when eleven of the lawmakers were forcefully evicted from the
chambers and subsequently suspended indefinitely. ‘‘He was here but he
was not forced out’’Mr.Nafada said.

On the other hand, Mr Nwachukwu was involved in a
fight in the chamber and was responsible for dislocating Ms Chinyere
Igwe’s shoulder. Both members were ordered to resume plenary Tuesday
next week. Their recall brings the number of recalled members in that
group four.

Notwithstanding a court judgement nullifying the
suspension of the lawmakers, the House leadership sustained a high
level of security surveillance aimed at preventing unyielding members
of the Progressives .

Eleven lawmakers who were believed to be members of
the Progressives group were forcefully evicted from the chamber and
their offices and subsequently suspended indefinitely, in June, after
they accused the Speaker of allegedly misappropriating N9 billion out
of the capital vote of the House. Five of them challenged their
suspension, as a group, in an Abuja High Court, while Doris Uboh
challenged her suspension alone. The court sitting on the
group-of-five’s case ruled last week that the suspension of the
lawmakers was null and void describing the process of their removal
“tyranny of the majority.”

The same court, on Wednesday, while ruling on Doris
Uboh’s case ordered the speaker, Dimeji Bankole, to pay the suspended
lawmakers their emoluments and declared their suspension null and void.
The House leadership, however, appears resolute to keep the lawmakers
who challenged their suspension in court out of the House chambers
arguing that they have appealed the ruling and also filed a motion for
the stay of execution of the last week ruling.

Eseme Eyibo, the House spokesman argued that there is a ‘locus
clasicus’meaning that when a case is on appeal, nobody is supposed to
take further steps to actualize the contended ruling.