Governors Hyacinth Alia of Benue State and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State failed to honour summons by House Committee on Public Petitions
Governors Hyacinth Alia of Benue State and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State on Thursday failed to honour a summons issued by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions.
Parliament Reports recalls that the committee summoned both governors and their state assembly leadership following the petition brought before the House on March 27, 2025, by Ihensekhien Samuel, legal representative of the civil society group Guardians of Rule of Law and Democracy, alleging illegal suspension of lawmakers in both states.
The group is urging the National Assembly to invoke its constitutional powers under Section 11 of the 1999 Constitution to take over the legislative functions of the affected state assemblies.
Central to the grievance is the allegation that the governors of Benue and Zamfara orchestrated the suspension of lawmakers in their respective state assemblies, effectively crippling the chambers by preventing them from forming a quorum and carrying out legislative duties.
In Zamfara, four members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and six from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were suspended by the assembly in February 2024 for allegedly holding an illegal plenary.
Currently, two lawmakers, Bilyaminu Moriki and Bashar Gummi (representing Gummi I Constituency), are each laying claim to the position of speaker.
The Gummi-led faction had convened a parallel sitting and purportedly impeached Moriki. In retaliation, the Moriki-led Assembly suspended 10 members allied with Gummi, accusing them of conducting an illegal session and declaring the impeachment attempt invalid.
In Benue, the House of Assembly suspended 13 lawmakers for three months for allegedly opposing the removal of Maurice Ikpambese, the state’s chief judge, whom they accused of gross misconduct and corruption.
During Thursday’s hearing, legal counsel to the petitioners, Ihensekhien Samuel, insisted the suspensions were unlawful.
“Our petition is founded on established precedents,” he stated, referencing decisions from the Court of Appeal and Federal High Court. “No House of Assembly has the jurisdiction to suspend a sitting member for more than 14 days anything beyond that is unconstitutional.”
He also accused the state governments of rejecting the National Assembly’s oversight authority.
“They have outrightly rejected the National Assembly’s authority to summon them,” he said. “They insist such invitations lack constitutional standing.”
A visibly frustrated suspended lawmaker from Zamfara spoke at the hearing:
“Before we came here, we were informed that neither the governors nor the assemblies would appear,” he said. “One of them even boasted in writing that nothing would come out of this process.”
However, the committee’s work encountered a procedural hurdle. Deputy Chairman of the Public Petitions Committee, Rep. Matthew Nwogu (LP Imo), who presided due to a recent leadership change questioned the validity of the petition’s referral process.
“I have the paper here,” Rep. Nwogu stated, “but there is no House stamp on it. Until we confirm the petition was duly laid before the House and referred to this committee, we cannot proceed legitimately.”
While the petitioner’s lawyer maintained that due process had been followed, the committee agreed to investigate the procedural status of the petition before moving forward.
“The former chairman of the committee will have to sit with the new chairman and brief us on what he knows about this issue; then, after, we will know what next steps to take,” Rep. Nwogu added.
Though newly appointed, committee chairman Rep. Kwamoti Bitrus Laori (PDP Adamawa), did not preside over the session but appealed for calm and adherence to due process.
“Please, let us follow due process,” he urged. “This matter is emotional, but we cannot let feelings override constitutional procedures.”
The committee reaffirmed its commitment to continuing its investigation, regardless of the governors’ absence, but stressed the importance of procedural correctness especially if Section 11 of the Constitution is to be invoked.
The committee adjourned the hearing to May 14, 2025, urging all concerned parties to appear on the new date.
