Ten members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly have urged the National Assembly, security agencies, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders to call the state legislature to order and caution it against some harsh and illegal decisions.
The lawmakers, comprising six Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and four All Progressives Congress (APC) at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, said. However, they have submitted a petition to the National Assembly and are constrained to take legal action against the Zamfara State House of Assembly.
Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, the member representing Maru South on the PDP platform, Hon. Nasiru Abdullahi Maru, condemned the declaration of the minority leader, Hon. Aliyu Ango Kagar’s seat was vacant on Tuesday.
Maru also said the House, under the leadership of Speaker Bilyaminu Ismail Moriki, illegally suspended eight of them last year without recourse to Constitutional provisions or the House standing Rules, with their allowances withheld and constituents left unrepresented.
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“The House, at its Tuesday’s sitting, on 28th January, ignorantly declared the seat of Minority Leader vacant just for political reasons to silence any reasonable member of the House. This, we condemn in its totality.
“We are hence calling for immediate rescinding of the purported declaration as vacant, the seat of the minority Leader and member representing Talata-Mafara South State Constituency, Hon. Aliyu Ango Kagara, by the Zamfara State House of Assembly under the leadership of Hon. Bilyaminu Ismail Moriki which we also deemed as an embarrassment emanating from ignorance, abuse of office, and a move to weed out anyone who challenges “them.”
“The same Bilyaminu’s House leadership suspended eight of us from the House on 26th February last year, 2024, illegally without recourse to Constitutional Provisions or the House Standing Rules. Our salaries and allowances have been withheld, and our Constituents have not been represented since then to voice our constituents’ security challenges before the House, which became a crime against the House leadership.
“The suspension, effected without due process or fair hearing, clearly violates 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,” he said.
Maru said the Assembly is now largely under the executive’s control, led by Governor Dauda Lawal’s PDP administration. The executive virtually takes orders from there and passes them on to the members, so the minority’s voice is barely heard.
He said that after removing 10 of them, the 24-member Assembly could no longer boast a two-thirds majority. Therefore, most decisions taken under the circumstances, including passage of the 2025 Appropriation Bill and state law Amendments, stand illegal, null, and void.
“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 members who refuse to dance to their tunes, especially as rubber stamps, face suspension threats, but this cannot be allowed to continue with such abuse looking like business as usual.
“The House has been in recess since September last year due to ongoing renovation, which even trapped the 2025 Appropriation Bill presentation, compelling it into a matter of public importance (the leadership) reopened the House to allow the Governor to present the budget proposal before a few of the members.
“The Assembly leadership also needs to explain to the electorates how many times they sat to take public interest decisions in the House of Assembly, which has been moving from one place to another and only come together on short notice to meet in secretive manners and take the bidding of their master who has since turned them into rubber stamps that are only convenient to some members.
“We wish to call on the National Assembly, security agencies, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders to call the Zamfara State House of Assembly to order as well as caution the State Legislature over this matter that may lead to taking them to court with claims of damages,” the lawmaker added.
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