The House of Representatives committee on Public Petitions has summoned the Governors of Benue and Zamfara States—Hyacinth Alia and Dauda Lawal, respectively—to appear before it on Thursday, May 8, 2025. The summons is to explain why the National Assembly should not take over the legislative functions of their respective State Houses of Assembly.

Also summoned are the Speakers of the two state Houses of Assembly and their principal officers.

The invitation follows a petition—Petition No. 638 of 2025—filed by a civil rights group, Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law, urging the House of Representatives to intervene and assume the functions of the embattled state legislatures.

The summons, personally signed by the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Mike Etaba, noted that the affected parties are already aware of the details of the petition.

In the letters addressed to the governors and the state Assembly leaders, Etaba stated: “Ours is to ensure that the rule of law is upheld at all times. The parties have a wonderful opportunity to state their cases clearly so that Nigerians can know what is going on. Anarchy will never be given any space in our polity.”

Both the Benue and Zamfara State Assemblies have been embroiled in protracted crises.

Zamfara has been operating under a factional legislative leadership, while the Benue State House of Assembly recently suspended 13 lawmakers who opposed the removal of the state’s Chief Judge by a faction aligned with the Speaker and Governor Alia.

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has since rejected the purported removal of the Chief Judge and warned against the swearing-in of a replacement.