Assembly Crisis: House C’ttee Gives Benue, Zamfara Governors One More Week Grace

•Suspended lawmakers, CSOs, lawyers appear before panel 

•Conference of speakers faults reps’ invitations

Chuks Okocha and Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The House of Representatives has granted Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, along with the leadership of their respective state Houses of Assembly, an additional one week grace period to appear before its panel.

The officials were expected at a hearing on yesterday before the House Committee on Public Petitions, held at the National Assembly in Abuja, but they failed to attend.

The hearing stemmed from a petition regarding the suspension of 13 lawmakers from the Benue State Assembly and 10 from the Zamfara Assembly, which has been ongoing since February 2024.

The petition, submitted by a group of lawyers under the platform Guardians of Democracy, was presented to the House on March 27, 2025, by Deputy Spokesperson Hon. Philip Agbese.

At the panel’s inaugural sitting on thursday, Hon. Douglas Akya (Makurdi South) led the suspended lawmakers from Benue, while Hon. Aliyu Ango Kagara (Talata Mafara South), the Minority Leader, represented the suspended members from Zamfara.

Notable activist and legal expert, Ihensekhien Samuel Junior, who led a team of 12 lawyers representing the petitioners, urged the House to give the case accelerated attention.

He clarified that the matter was not in any court and emphasised that, even if it were, the House still had jurisdiction unless a court had issued an order stopping the panel.

He explained the core of the petition, stating that 11 lawmakers in Zamfara were suspended allegedly under directives from the executive arm of the state government, and this had lasted 16 months, adding that 13 lawmakers in Benue were also suspended without legal grounds.

These suspensions, he argued, had rendered both legislative chambers unable to form a quorum necessary for lawmaking.

He questioned the legality of any decisions made by the remaining few lawmakers and appealed for the immediate reinstatement of the suspended members.

He also asked the House to consider taking over the legislative functions of both Assemblies, invoking the constitutional powers available to it.

Additionally, he recommended the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods to resolve the issue but stressed that reinstatement should occur without delay.

Following the session, Hon. Laori Kwamoti, the newly appointed Chairman of the Public Petitions Committee, appealed for calm and assured all parties of fairness and due process.

He emphasised that the committee would diligently pursue the matter and protect everyone’s rights.

The Committee’s Vice Chairman, Hon. Nwogu Mathew, who presided over the sitting, explained that recent leadership changes within the Committee had led to a restructuring.

Meanwhile, the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, has faulted the summons issued by the House Committee on Public Petitions to the speakers of the Benue and Zamfara States houses of assembly.

Chairman of the conference of speakers, Adebo Ogundoyin, described the summons as an “overreach of constitutional powers” and a “direct challenge” to Nigeria’s federal structure and the autonomy of state legislatures.

He said the investigative and oversight powers of the National Assembly under sections 88 and 89 of the constitution were “limited to federal matters.”

Ogundoyin said the state legislature was an independent arm of government and presiding officers could not be summoned over internal legislative issues — except where a “clear constitutional or federal matter” is involved.

The conference warned that any “attempt to erode the constitutional independence of state assemblies may set a dangerous precedent” that could undermine the country’s democracy.

“The Conference called on the National Assembly to uphold the principles of separation of powers and mutual institutional respect, while assuring Nigerians of its unwavering commitment to transparency, accountability, and the rule of law at all levels of governance,” the statement reads.