The principle of separation of powers between the arms of government as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution as amended was literally trampled on recently during the inauguration of the 7th Nasarawa State House of Assembly and election of its presiding officers.
The newly elected members of the State Assembly had hoped to elect their leaders independently, that is, without interference from any quarters.
When the Ogazi faction got wind of that, they forced their way into the Assembly chamber and elected Ogazi as Speaker and Mohammed Oyanki as Deputy Speaker. After that, the Ogazi faction suspended Balarabe and his loyalists from the Assembly. The suspension was sequel to a motion of public importance moved by the member representing Obi II Constituency, Luka Iliya Zhekaba and seconded by Ibrahim Aliyu Nana, representing Keffi West Constituency.
Also contributing, Nana re-echoed the position of Zhekaba, further urging the House to take a decisive decision to compel the immediate past speaker, Balarabe-Abdullahi from parading himself as the speaker of the Assembly. “Also, they should be prevented from parading themselves as speaker, deputy speaker and members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly. Members of the public should not recognise them as honourable members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly until they avail themselves before the hallowed chamber to be properly inaugurated and actively participate in the activities and procedures of the Assembly.
He called on security operatives to arrest members of the Ogazi group, saying they were constituting “nuisance to the legislative community and the state as a whole.” Speaking on the crisis during a programme on Arise Television, Sule stated unequivocally: “l will only recognise the Speaker sworn-in by the Clerk of Assembly.”
“Politicians can sometimes create big things out of nothing. These two gentlemen that we are talking about, who are contesting against each other, are the best of friends. Explaining further why he prefers to work with Balarabe-Abdullahi, the governor noted that he has been able to keep the House calm as a result of his maturity.
“Then we called all the legislators from our party and told them this is who we want to be speaker and we want them to support him.
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