The governors of Benue state, Hyacinth Alia and Zamfara state Dauda Lawal on Thursday snubbed the House of Representatives Public Petitions Committee’s summon.
Recall that the Commitee summoned both governors and their State Assembly leadership following a petition brought before the House on March 27, 2025, by Samuel Ihensekhie, who is the legal representative of the civil society group, Guardians of Rule of Law and Democracy,.
The group which alleged illegal suspension of lawmakers in both states, urged the National Assembly to invoke its constitutional powers to take over the legislative functions of the affected state assemblies under Section 11 of the 1999 Constitution.
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.
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.
At the hearing, the representative of the petitioner Samuel Ihensekhie said: their petition is founded on established precedents,.citing rulings by the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court which state “No House of Assembly has the jurisdiction to suspend a sitting member for more than 14 days — anything beyond that is unconstitutional.”
Petitioners noted with concern that the state governments had outrightly rejected the National Assembly’s authority to summon them, insisting such invitations lack constitutional backing.
The committee noting that the absence of the summoned individuals would not halt its work, emphasized that due process must be followed, especially if the House intends to invoke Section 11 to take over state legislative duties.
The panel gave another date,14th of May 2025 for all parties to appear again. .
