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Ten members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, currently under suspension, have called upon the National Assembly to intervene in the ongoing crisis in the state legislature.
The lawmakers, comprising four members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and six from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made this appeal on Friday during a press briefing in Abuja.
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They are Ibrahim Tukur, Faruk Dosara, Shamsudeen Hassan, Bashar Aliyu, Nasiru Maru, Bashir Masama, Amiru Ahmed, Basiru Bello, Aliyu Kagara, and Mukhtaru Nasiru.
The 24-member House of Assembly is controlled by the PDP; however, some of the suspended members are also from the PDP.
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Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Mr Maru, who represents Maru North Constituency, explained that eight of them were suspended in February 2024, while the seat of the Minority Leader, Aliyu Kagara, was recently declared vacant by the Speaker of the House, Bilyaminu Moriki—a move they declared illegal.
He said they have sent a petition to the National Assembly and are awaiting the decision of the federal lawmakers on the matter.
“We sent a petition to the National Assembly; they called us and asked us to go back, stating they would invite us for further investigation, but up to this moment, we have not heard from them. We are waiting for their response,” Mr Maru said.
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The Constitution empowers the National Assembly to assume the responsibilities of any House of Assembly if it is unable to function. However, the Constitution provides further stringent measures to avoid abuse.
Section 11(4) states that “At any time when any House of Assembly of a State is unable to perform its functions by reason of the situation prevailing in that State, the National Assembly may make such laws for the peace, order, and good government of that State with respect to matters on which a House of Assembly may make laws as may appear to the National Assembly to be necessary or expedient until such time as the House of Assembly is able to resume its functions; and any such laws enacted by the National Assembly pursuant to this section shall have effect as if they were laws enacted by the House of Assembly of the State.”
In 2016, the Senate and the House of Representatives resolved to take over the functions of the Kogi State House of Assembly following a crisis in the state.
In 2019, there was also a resolution by the House concerning the Edo Assembly crisis.
Reasons for Suspension
Mr Maru explained that the suspended members and the minority leader are victims of political persecution by the speaker, acting at the behest of the executive.
READ ALSO: Plateau’s Trauma Centre commissioned by ex-governor is uncompleted, non-functional
He added that the suspended members are those who have refused to be a rubber-stamp parliament.
“The Assembly is now more or less under the control of the Executive, virtually taking orders from there and imposing the same on the members, whereby the minority’s voice is barely heard,” he stated.
He said the Assembly suspended the members in clear violation of the 1999 Constitution and called for a rescission of the action.
“The suspension, which was effected without due process or fair hearing, is a clear violation of our rights and the principles of natural justice. The declaration of the Minority Leader’s seat vacant is a further attempt to silence him and disenfranchise him for his stance on the call for the Assembly to reverse the suspension of eight honourable members and address the injustice.
“It is sad to note that through these undue interferences by the powers that be among the lawmakers, they have been fighting and terrorising even their own members who refuse to dance to their tunes, especially as rubber stamps, facing suspension threats, but this cannot be allowed to continue with such abuse looking like business as usual ” Mr Maru said.
The lawmaker claimed that all actions taken by the 14 members of the House are null and void. However, the quorum of the House is only one-third of the members.
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