Puntland Parliament Speaker resigns

Puntland Parliament speaker Saed Hassan Shire has resigned ahead of confidence vote in the house on Wednesday morning,  reports. On Tuesday, more than 40 Members of Parliament lodged no confidence motion in Speaker Shire with Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Shire announced his premature resignation at a news conference at his residence in the capital, Garowe. Proponents of the motion have accused Shire of embroiling himself in the presidency, and coming to the defense of Puntland President during parliamentary deliberations on Monday. The resignation coincides with the 36th session of 66-seat-chamber that was convened by Ali on Sunday. On Monday, MPs questioned Puntland President on surfacing counterfeit shillings, missing pays of security forces and illegal fishing proliferating at an alarming rate in territorial waters. United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea blasted Puntland leader for failing to deter Al Shabaab threats, and curb illicit sales of fishing licenses. –