Adamu Usman,
The Speaker of Niger State House of Assembly, Adamu
Usman, his deputy, Hon. Abdulrahaman Bala, the Chief Whip, Hon.
Abdullahi Lawal and Majority Leader, Hon. Haruna Labaran were on Tuesday
impeached for not taking action over the non-payment of the over head
cost of the lawmakers since February.The principal officers were impeached by 19 out of the 25 members of the assembly.
The
gate of the assembly was shut down as early as 7.30a.m., preventing
members from getting into the premises but members after asking
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr. Aaron Sunday, politely to
open the gate, he insisted he was working with directives from above.
The
lawmakers then went ahead to break the padlock of the gate to gain
access to the chamber where Hon. Abdullahi Akwanu who is the house
chairman business and rule, told the assembly that after the assembly’s
executive meeting on Monday, it was agreed that it should sit yesterday
expressing surprise that no leader of the assembly, including the
speaker was around for the sitting.
He therefore drew the
attention of the assembly to order 8 of the assembly standing rule which
provides that in the absence of the speaker from the assembly without
any reason, a temporary speaker be appointed to enable the proceeding of
the assembly.
A motion was therefore moved by Hon. Usman
Dada, representing Bosso Constituency for the appointment of a temporary
speaker and this was seconded by another member.
Hon. Isah
Kawu, representing Bida 1 was immediately nominated for the position of
the temporary speaker by Hon. Abdullahi Akwanu and this was seconded by
Hon. Jacob Maggi Gana, representing Lavun Constituency.
Thereafter,
Gana told the assembly that the refusal of the leadership of the
assembly to show up after it was agreed at the executive meeting on
Monday had caused the some level of embarrassment and therefore moved
for the removal of the leadership.
His motion was seconded by
member representing Paikoro Constituency, Hon. Yusuf Kure. After
sacking the leadership of the assembly, the temporary speaker then
called for nomination for the new leadership of the assembly.
Hon.
Gana immediately nominated the temporary speaker, Hon. Isah Kawu as the
new speaker of the assembly, Hon. Bello Ahmed (Agwara) Deputy speaker,
Hon. Yusuf Kure (Paikoro) Majority leader, while Hon. Sa’adatu Kolo
(Mashehu) Chief Whip.
The new speaker was immediately sworn in by the Clark of the assembly, Mallam Adamu Kagara
Meanwhile,
the embattled has declared that he still remains the substantive
speaker, while the leadership of the assembly remains the valid leaders
of the House.
He described the process leading to his removal as illegal and unconstitutional.
“I
am still the Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly having been
elected since May 22, 2012. The impeachment is illegal and
unconstitutional. The leadership of the assembly still remains the
valid leaders of the House. Lots of issues have emerged but no one has
accused us of misconduct or financial misappropriation. “
According
to him, the sitting which led to the declaration of his impeachment had
no mace which is the symbol of authority, adding that there was also an
order of interim injunction from the High Court in Minna restraining
the members from jointly and severally setting in motion any process of
impeachment pending the hearing and determination of the motion on
notice.
Speaking with journalists after the announcement of
his impeachment, Adamu said the bone of contention was the finances of
the assembly as the assembly had not received overhead cost for three
months, explaining that it was because of the economic meltdown from the
federation account.
He added that the reason given by the
members was not the legitimate reasons for his removal, stressing that
all the reasons given are personal, “the issue is fundamentally finance,
it is between the legislature and the executive, I am also affected. No
money has been given to me that I did not give back to them. The
leadership has been trying to talk to the executive to ensure the
overhead cost is release but the executive has been saying there is no
money.”
The embattled Speaker said the assembly was being
owed overhead allowances since February this year, stating that this was
anticipated because of the election and economic hardship in the
nation.
He also warned the governor to be on alert as his impeachment was on the way.
“I
want to alert the governor to be prepared because tomorrow, the members
may serve an impeachment notice on him. Today, may be my impeachment,
tomorrow, it will be the governor.”
However, addressing
newsmen, the new Speaker, Kawu, denied moves to impeach the governor,
while stating that the House never received any injunction restraining
it from impeaching the former Speaker.
He said the decision
to impeach the Speaker was in conformity with the rules of the game,
adding that the impeachment stands as the quorum needed to remove the
Speaker was in order.
Kawu then frowned at the involvement of
the police and other security agencies for trying to create problem and
cause crisis where there was no reason for such.
He allayed
the fears of the people in the state that there will be crisis saying,
“there were few nots and dots that we are suppose to put in some commas
and full stop which we had to do, there is nothing to fear about.”
The new speaker was a speaker for one day before he was impeached and Usman took over from him.
Troops Kill 28 Suspected Militants in Plateau State
Troops
at the weekend killed 28 suspected militants during operation launched
in response to an attack last month which saw six soldiers gruesomely
murdered, the military said Monday.
The violence occurred on
the border between Plateau and Taraba States, an area plagued by waves
of sectarian violence seen as separate from Boko Haram, although the
Islamist insurgents have claimed past attacks in the region.
“In
our effort to rid the border communities... of incessant killings and
brigandage, there was an exchange of fire between troops and militiamen
in which lives were lost,” military spokesman Ikedichi Iweha told AFP,
referring to Saturday’s unrest.
“Twenty-eight members of the
militia group lost their lives, one soldier was injured while another is
still missing following the battle,” he added.
Iweha said
the offensive in the districts of Wase and Langtang was launched in
response to an April 28 attack by militants on troops operating in the
area.
“They killed the soldiers, took away their arms, gouged out
their eyes, cut their tongues and decapitated their bodies in a most
horrible manner,” he added.
He fiercely denied accusations
circulating in local media that the troops went on a rampage,
indiscriminately firing on defenceless civilians in retaliation for the
six soldiers’ gory deaths.
The Plateau State Sovernment
spokesman, Pam Ayuba, said locals on his side of the border were angry
their community was targeted in the operation, as the purported
militants were clearly based in Taraba State.
There was no
immediate indication as to the identity of the suspected militants and
it was not clear if they had any connection to Boko Haram.
Iweha said the search for the attackers was ongoing.
Plateau State falls in Nigeria’s so-called Middle Belt, where the mainly Christian south meets the majority Muslim north.
Christian-dominated
farming communities have clashed with largely Muslim herdsmen of the
Fulani ethic group since the turn of the century, leaving thousands
dead. Ayuba said the region on the Taraba border has been peaceful for
several years.
Violence by Boko Haram has most heavily been
concentrated in Plateau’s capital Jos, where churches and markets have
been repeatedly bombed.
Most violence in rural areas has been blamed on long-standing sectarian grievances fuelled partly by battles over land rights.
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Niger House Speaker Impeached.....
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