The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the Federal Government to suspend further statutory allocations to the state, alleging persistent violations of constitutional financial procedures by the Dauda Lawal–led administration.

In a statement issued by the APC State Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Idris Gusau, the party accused the state government and the leadership of the House of Assembly of engaging in “illegalities” relating to the presentation of the annual appropriation bill, internal revenue practices, and the expenditure of public funds.

According to the statement, Governor Dauda Lawal recently presented his third appropriation bill, estimated at over N861 billion to what the party described as an “improperly constituted” House of Assembly, despite what it called the government’s “poor and questionable implementation” of the previous year’s budget.

Gusau said:

“Like last year, the 2025 budget proposal was presented to less than two-thirds of the 24-member House of Assembly, which is a gross violation of the Constitution. Matters such as budget approval, impeachment, and related issues require a two-thirds majority.

“Because this illegality was not challenged last year by anyone except the APC, the Governor felt emboldened to repeat the same violation with the 2026 budget.”

The party also condemned the decision to bar journalists from covering the budget presentation, which was held behind closed doors at the Jibril Bala Yakubu Secretariat conference hall instead of the Assembly complex.

The statement further alleged that key constitutional symbols, including the portrait of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the coat of arms, and the Governor’s official portrait were absent during the presentation, leaving only the Speaker’s portrait displayed.

Gusau added that the government and the Assembly leadership had earlier suspended lawmakers across party lines who were believed to be critical of the budget process, reducing the membership to just 10 members.

“With these glaring irregularities, we call on the Federal Government, in strong terms, to suspend federal allocations to Zamfara State as a first step until the right thing is done,” the statement concluded.