From Linus Oota, Lafia

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IT was a rough ride for Nasarawa State governor, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, in his first four years as the states’ helmsman when the Assembly was dominated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), then the majority party which had 20 members as against his party, the defunct CPC, with four legislators.
Expectedly, the battle for his political soul seemingly became constant for Al-Makura, who, buffeted by a whirlwind of his own creation, miraculously escaped nine impeachment attempts by the PDP dominated Assembly whose members accused him of financial misconduct and abuse of office.
That was yesteryears. Today, the storm is over for the governor and peace had been his lot since his re-election in the April 2015 general elections, during which his new party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), produced 18 members in the state Assembly, while the opposition PDP has six.
To solidify his victory, his next move was to ensure his loyalist emerged as Speaker of the Assembly to avoid the turbulence that almost consumed him during the 4th Assembly.
Invoking the powers of his office as chief executive officer of the state, he inaugurated the 5th Assembly on June 9, 2015, with Hon Ibrahim Babarabe (APC-Umaisha/Ugya) and Hon Godiya Akwashiki (PDP-Nasarawa Eggon West) as Speaker and deputy Speaker respectively.
The election of the two officers was unopposed. It commenced with a motion for nomination of Hon Babarabe as the speaker by Hon Abubakar Imam (APC-Lafia Central) and was seconded by Hon Ibrahim Alkali (PDP-Lafia North). Also, Hon Muluku Aggah (PDP-Nasarawa Eggon East) moved a motion for the nomination of Hon Akwashiki as the deputy speaker and his motion was seconded by Hon Makpa Mala (APC-Wamba). Clerk of the House, Mr. Ego Maikeffi while announcing the results, said all due processes for the election were followed.
Proceedings at the Assembly sailed smoothly since its commencement until April 3, this year, when trouble set in. Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, had, allegedly through the connivance of the House leadership, sworn in 11 Sole Administrators for some Local Councils without obtaining the consent and clearance of the lawmakers, an action that threw the House into crisis which began in an executive session where six legislators kicked against the inauguration of the appointees without presenting them before the Assembly for screening.
But 17 members of the Assembly, with the exception of the Speaker who was on sick leave, threw their weight behind Governor Almakura’s action. The rift spilled over to the plenary when the Majority Leader of the House, Hon Tanko Tunga moved a motion, citing Order 39 subsection 1,2,3 of the House Rules to suspend the six members for challenging the action of the governor and the House at a press conference.
The feud resulted in a free-for-all at a session during which some members were injured as chairs, tables and various sharp objects were freely used. The tension was later doused when Hon Daniel Ogazi from Kokona East, moved a motion to suspend the House sittings indefinitely.
Speaking during a press briefing, Chairman, Committee on Information, Hon Makpa Malla, who was among the six aggrieved members, said the use and destruction of items at the executive session was a result of division among the lawmakers on the appointment of the Sole Administrators.
He described the procedure of their appointment by the governor as illegal, saying the House could not watch the continued perpetration of illegalities in the state, just as he accused the Speaker and other House leaders of conniving with the executive to subvert the Assembly’s rules.
However, on April 5, 2016, the Assembly at a session, suspended six of its members for opposing Governor Tanko Al-Makura’s decision to swear in the 11 Sole Administrators without clearance of the House. The six members were suspended indefinitely for alleged “misconduct and for bringing the House to disrepute”, following the exchange of fisticuffs at the Chamber.
In so doing, the House allegedly took advantage of the absence of the affected members who were said to have been invited by the Department of State Service (DSS), over the crisis in the Assembly. Their suspension was announced by the deputy Speaker, Hon Godiya Akwashiki (PDP-Nasarawa Eggon West), who presided over the sitting.
He declared: “13 members have voted in support of a motion moved for the suspension of the six lawmakers, who misbehaved during our sitting; they are suspended from the House indefinitely without salary and allowances over their misconduct.”
Earlier, the Majority Leader, Tanko Tunga, had moved a motion for the suspension of the six lawmakers over misconduct and corruption-related allegations they leveled against members of the House thereby, bringing the Assembly to disrepute. He said that the suspended lawmakers had alleged that the executive arm of government bribed some members of the House to support the appointment of the sole administrators by Governor Tanko Almakura.
According to him, “the action of the six members had caused confusion which resulted into chaos among members and it is in view of this that I want to move a motion for their suspension so as to serve as deterrent to other lawmakers.”
The motion which was seconded by the Minority Leader, Hon Muhammed Alkali, was supported by 14 members of the Assembly, including the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Godiya Akwashiki.
Reacting to the suspension, House Committee Chairman on Information and member representing Wamba Constituency, Hon Makpa Malla, described the action as a “rape of democracy” and vowed that the group would seek redress in court. “This is ridiculous; they have no basis of doing that because it is an assault on the rule of law. How will they suspend us because we said that the right thing must be done and the rule of law must be followed in regard to the appointment of 11 Sole Administrators?
We will seek redress; we are law abiding lawmakers, we know the right thing to be done and we have already briefed our lawyers on the next line of action.”
The six suspended lawmakers are Hon Kassim Kassim (APC-Akwanga South), Hon Abubakar Kana (APC-Kokona West) Hon Makpa Malla (APC-Wamba) Hon Mohammed Okpoku (APC-Udega/Loko) Hon Musa Ali (APC-Keffi East) and Hon Murtala Sodangi (APC-Nasarawa Central).
A few days after their suspension, deputy Speaker Godiya Akwashiki, attributed the crisis to leadership tussle and not appointment of local government sole administrators as insinuated. He alleged while presiding over plenary in the absence of the Speaker, Hon Ibrahim Abdullahi, who was sick, that one of the six suspended lawmakers had, indeed, moved for the impeachment of the Speaker.
Hon Akwashiki, who led 14 other lawmakers at the briefing, alleged that the six suspended members of the House had already perfected plans to take over the leadership of the Assembly, and had even allocated positions to themselves before plenary on the day the crisis erupted. He claimed the issue of appointment of sole administrators was only used to cause chaos, contending that the suspension of the lawmakers was as a result of their breach of the House rules, and not their disagreement on the appointment of sole administrators.
“The six suspended lawmakers had gone to the press with the claims that they were suspended for raising alarm that the Assembly had been bribed to accept the appointment of sole administrators by the executive.
We suspended them indefinitely because they violated some sections of our House rules, order 38: subsection 1, 2 and 3 of the House rule forbade members from going to the press without permission of the Speaker or Deputy speaker”.
He noted that the six members also violated House rule 24 sub 6, 7 which forbids members from using abusive and provocative words on their colleagues at the chamber.
But speaking to our correspondent, one of the suspended members, Hon Kassim wondered how six members could attempt to oust a speaker and other principal officers. “It is not true; the six of us wanted to protect the Constitution by telling the governor and other members of the House of Assembly to do the right thing, but we were rebuffed”.
Few weeks after the turmoil in the Assembly, the lawmakers sat and passed a vote of confidence on the Speaker and other principal officers.
This followed a motion moved by Hon Muhammed Ibrahim-Alkali (PDP-Lafia North) during a session of the House.
Hon Ibrahim who is the Minority Leader, said despite the recent challenging moments in the House, the Speaker had exhibited a high sense of maturity in piloting its affairs, hence the need for the motion. “Given the maturity with which the affairs of this House were handled, I want to move a motion to pass a vote of confidence on Alhaji Ibrahim Balarabe-Abdullahi, the Speaker of this House and other principal officers for their leadership quality. The speaker has done a lot not only in uniting the members of this House, but he has also exhibited high sense of maturity in piloting the affairs of the House”, he noted.
He urged members for maximum cooperation and support to the Speaker to enable him and other principal officers succeed for the benefit of the state.
Hon Abubakar Iman (APC-Lafia Central) seconded the motion for the vote of confidence, following which the House unanimously passed the motion.
Responding, Speaker Ibrahim Abdullahi, commended his colleagues for the confidence reposed in him and other principal officers. He expressed his unrelenting efforts towards uniting and ensuring cordial relationship between the legislative and executive arm of government in the interest of peace and speedy development of the state.
One month after their suspension, the six lawmakers now popularly known as G6 Lawmakers Forum of Nasarawa State, lambasted Governor Tanko Al-Makura as well as the Assembly members. They said in a joint statement: “we held and still hold that this is contrary to the spirit and letter of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
“The combined effect of section 7 (1) and 7(6)(b) guarantees a democratically elected system of local government councils and vests power in the state Assembly over the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of the councils”.
According to them, Nasarawa State under Al-Makura, had become a pariah state, manned by a dictator. “Nasarawa state is fast becoming both a pariah and a dictatorship covered in democratic apparel as an overbearing Chief Executive supremely wields both executive and legislative powers with a few teleguided members of the legislature. It is crucial to state here that the Governor appears to have a penchant for disregarding existing laws in carrying out his duties touching on matters of state.
“This same scenario played out in 2011 when the governor at the time, unilaterally carried out similar appointments without recourse to the 4th Assembly. Incidentally, the present deputy Speaker (PDP) was at that time, the majority leader of the House. The 4th Assembly withstood the Governor until he went back on his illegal act and dissolved the then appointees. A quick amendment was made to the extant local government law to pave way for the appointment of a five-man caretaker committee for local governments upon recourse to the house, pending elections.
This law, assented to by the Governor has neither been set aside nor repealed. The question is, why did the governor turn blind eyes to it?
The aggrieved lawmakers said Al-Makura should be called to order before he ruins democratic institutions in the state. “We wish to state unequivocally that he who is down fears no fall. Local government councils have been denied the full benefit of their allocations from the Federation Account, with their staff being paid salaries in percentages; local government staffers collect their cheques from the state capital through the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; the governor had openly said joint accounts for LGCs no longer existed, and this calls for concern. We stand against this payment in percentages and we vehemently call for the settlement of all outstanding salaries owed local government workers.
“We challenge the executive arm of the government of Nasrawa state to openly publish bank tellers containing amounts deposited by it to the credit of each local government in the state starting from June 2015 till date, as disbursed by the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee month by month in favour of each local government. If no abuse is seen from the disbursement by the state government to the various local government accounts, we undertake as honorable men, to resign and surrender our mandate”.
Months after the controversial inauguration of the 11 Sole Administrators, the Assembly in a dramatic U-turn, nullified their appointment on grounds of illegality and hurriedly amended the Nasarawa State Local Government Law 2009 as amended in 2011, to pave way for the appointment of chairmen, interim committee and members for the existing local government areas in the state.
On July 22, 2016, the House received a fresh list of nomination of 11 Interim Management Committee (IMC) and 147 councilors submitted to it for confirmation by Governor Tanko Al-Makura, who said the Interim Management Committee (IMC) chairmen and their members would offer the people at the grassroots a sense of belonging as well as ensure even development.
The IMCs have since assumed office in their various local governments following their express confirmation by the House of Assembly, but the six lawmakers remain suspended.
Remarkably, the role of legislators is to make laws; but in the line of duty, some often do more than it is expected. While it is not the role of lawmakers to build hospitals, schools or roads, the quality of laws they enact can enable the prompt and efficient delivery of requisite infrastructure and services that enhance development. Ironically, some state Assembly members have allegedly abandoned these onerous responsibilities and transformed into proteges of executive governors who assert enormous influence on them.
Nasarawa fits into the league of state Houses of Assembly in this mould, where members of the current 5th Assembly are widely believed to be the most culpable in abdicating their statutory functions since the creation of the state 20 years ago. And there seems no end in sight to the string of executive excesses the leadership of the Assembly might be willing to append its seal.