Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Emmanuel Isenah, has reportedly been impeached.
A report published by the Nation newspaper said Mr Isenah has been replaced with a lawmaker representing Southern Ijaw Constituency 2, Monday Obolo.
There are reports of shooting around the assembly premises.
The Nation quoted Ranami Afagha, a media aide to the impeached speaker, as saying that his removal would not stand because, according to him, it did not follow the assembly’s standing rule.
“Those who don’t want peace said they removed (the) speaker without the presence of the mace. The mace was taken away so any activity done without the mace is illegal. So, my boss still remains the Speaker,” the paper quoted Mr Afagha as having said.
Mr Isenah, who is from the same Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area with Douye Diri, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been under pressure to resign as the speaker so that his party can spread political offices to enable them to pull in more votes in the forthcoming elections.
But he had continuously resisted such pressure.
The Bayelsa governorship election holds on November 16 and the PDP will be hoping to retain the governorship seat in the state.