The Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf has warned that members of the 8th Assembly will not fold their arms and allow any political officeholder or individual to ridicule the chambers as an institution.
Aliyu stated this on Wednesday while fielding questions from the Assembly correspondent when the embattled Coordinator of the Kogi State Social Investment Programme Agency (KOSSIPA), Hajiya Aishat Oyiza Omade, finally honoured the Assembly’s invitation after several months of evasion.
Aliyu asserted that the Assembly under his watch would never be ridiculed, adding that the present eight-member Assembly remains committed to protecting the legislative arm of government without fear or favour.
“She was not even qualified to appear before all of us on the first instance. It must be a serious issue before such can happen. By the report we received from the committee, she seems not to be available after several invitations. The report was brought to the house, and the lawmakers had to come together to protect the committee by compelling her to come.
“The objective of our pronouncement on Tuesday was achieved. Any officer, irrespective of their office in Kogi State, can be invited. She has come and we have admonished her to always work according to the law.
“By extension, we have admonished other political office holders to be wary of the law. Rules guide any position they find themselves in, which must be obeyed. We didn’t give her much attention, so out of magnanimity, the house referred her back to the committee she had failed to honour.
“She can not be bigger than the committee. What we have achieved is to allow them to take charge of what they want her to do. Let it be on record that there is no petition against her or infractions committed before now.
“The thing is that she failed to honour the invitations of the committee that oversees her agency. We have compelled her to come. This will signal to others that nobody is above this institution called the Kogi State House of Assembly”.
He maintained that the committee has legislative duties backed by law to carry out its oversight functions and promote good governance in Kogi State.
The number three citizen of Kogi State dismissed public insinuation that the house has been compromised to wield the big stick against the KOSSIPA boss.
According to him, “Nothing has exchanged hands. If we don’t want to be serious about this, we won’t come to the plenary and discuss it. We are very serious about it. The essence is to let them know that we are not rubber stamps. If we need an explanation from the Governor, we will write to him and ask him to come.
“If she had failed to appear today, the world would see what would have happened. I don’t want to be one person who will wield the big stick on any officer in the State. Therefore, we must do the right thing by obeying the Constitution. We were the ones who screened her here. So, why is she evading the house invitation?
It recalls that the lawmaker on Tuesday threatened to issue a bench warrant of arrest against Omade if she failed to appear before the house on 7th May 2025.
Omade was accused of failing to appear before the House ad-hoc standing committee on special duties, legislative compliance, government house administration, and the Governor’s office, headed by the majority leader of the House, Hon Suleiman Abdulrazak, a member representing Okene 1.
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