BY ANDREW IKEHI
SPEAKER of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Emomotimi Guwor, yesterday declared that henceforth, members should stop bowing to him during plenary.
“The proper thing is for the Deputy Speaker, other principal officers and members alike to bow before the mace and not to me”, he said.
The Speaker said “the rule as enshrined in the standing order of the House is that you bow before the mace and not before the Speaker
“Therefore, from today, during procession, it is expected that the Deputy Speaker, Leader of the House and other principal officers should bow before the mace and not to the speaker”, Guwor said. The clarification, according to him, takes immediate effect.
Also at plenary, the Speaker announced significant changes in the sitting arrangement of some members, particularly the former Minority leader of the State Assembly, Hon. Edafe Emakpor.
The change in the sitting arrangement, according to Rt. Hon. Emmotimi Guwor was informed by the recent absence of minority position in the House.
The absence of the minority position, the Speaker explained, was as a result of the mass defection of members of the House from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), leaving no room for opposition party in the House.
Given the development, other ranking officers of the House who included former Majority leader in the Seventh Assembly and member representing Isoko South II, Hon. Ferguson Onwo, members representing Ndokwa West, Bomadi and Warri South, Charles Emetulu, Oboro Preyor and, Augustine Uroye and member representing Patani State Constituency, Emmanuel Sinibe were affected in the recent sitting reshuffle.
