…says Assembly’s decision constitutional
A group under the umbrella of concerned stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa state has thrown their weight behind the suspension of the Chairman of Lafia, Mohammad Haliru-Arabo, by the state House of Assembly.
Spokesperson of the group, Muhammad Habibu, stated this at a press conference on Friday in Lafia, saying the assembly acted within its constitutional powers.
He said that the state legislature was right in its decision, having digested the allegations against the embattled chairman when it found the Lafia local government Area guilty of breach of the law in the purported suspension of the speaker of the legislative Arm, Mohammed Shu’abu-Madaki.
“Section 128 of the 1999 constitution, as amended, empowers the House of Assembly to investigate any matters relating to the execution of state laws, administration of public offices and conduct of public officials.
“Local Government Chairmen fall directly under this constitutional oversight; therefore, the assembly has the right to ask the council chairman to step aside to interfere with the ongoing investigation,” he explained.
The spokesperson lauded Governors Abdullahi Sule and the House of Assembly for the way they are handling the affairs of the state and urged detractors to allow the government to continue to provide good governance and security to the people of the state.
It could be recalled that the Nasarawa State House of Assembly suspended the council chairman of Lafia Local Government Area, Hon Haliru-Arabo, over his alleged involvement in the crisis that hit the council’s legislative arm recently.
The Assembly has since directed the Deputy Chairman, Uba Arikya, to oversee the affairs of the local government council pending the outcome of the investigation.
Reacting to the suspension of the chairman, Lafia local government Area, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa state, Abubakar Usman-Sandaji, has criticised the suspension, describing it as deeply flawed, politically motivated, and dangerous to democratic culture.
He argued that the assembly acted hastily without credible evidence to back its action.
