This came after 18 out of the 27 lawmakers had on Tuesday removed the deputy speaker, Amara Iwuanyanwu.

The resolution for Iwuanyanwu’s removal was presented to the Speaker, Paul Emeziem, who presided over the session, by Ekene Nnodimele who represents Orsu state constituency.

Iwuanyanwu, who was at the plenary, had sought to find out the content of the letter Nnodimele gave to the Speaker, but Emeziem immediately ordered Iwuanyanwu to go back to his position.

The Speaker thereafter hit the gavel okaying Iwuanyanwu’s removal after reading the resolution.

Iwuanyanwu immediately stormed out of the plenary and zoomed off in his convoy.

The Speaker afterwards adjourned the plenary till Thursday. Surprisingly, no lawmaker was sighted at the House of Assembly complex on Thursday. Speculation had been rift that the Majority Leader, Anayo Onyemaechi, and the Cerk of the House, Chinelo Emeghara, who were said to be the allies of the removed deputy speaker, would be removed on Thursday during plenary.

In his stead, the member representing Onuimo Constituency, Paul Emeziem, also of the APC, was elected as the new speaker. The assembly has 20 APC members and seven Peoples Democratic Party members.

Collins was elected in June 2019 after he defected from the All Progressives Grand Alliance to the PDP, during the ousted Emeka Ihedioha administration. When Governor Hope Uzodimma took over in January 2020, the impeached speaker, alongside others, joined the APC.

Amid heavy security at Ojukwu Centre, which served as the temporary venue of the assembly, the members, led by the Deputy Speaker, Chyna Iwuanyanwu, presided over the short session that began around 2 pm.

After the impeachment saga, Emeziem with other members/supporters headed to the Government House, Owerri, to visit Uzodimma.