Impeachment: Zamfara Assembly Suspends 8 Members Indefinitely
From Ibrahim Kaulahi Gusau
Zamfara State House of Assembly has today suspended 8 members over alleged burglary of the offices of the house Clerk and Sergeant at Arm, illegal sitting and use of fabricated Mace for the sitting during which they suspended the Assembly till the state is banditry-free.
Reading out the position of the Assembly on the matter, the Speaker Zamfara State House of Assembly, hon. Bilyaminu Isma’il Moriki, said in line with the provision of Section 14 subsection (1b) and 2 respectively of the legislative house powers and privilege act 2017 as well as provision of penal code, the actions of the embattled members should not go unpunished.
Hon. Moriki further directed the Director State Security Service to investigate into the matter and handed the outcome to the State Attorney General for an onward processing to court for legal description of their actions and the due penalty, saying, this should be done to serve as deterrent to others with a view to avoid recurrent of the alleged illegal protest in the house.
Deliberations by hon. members in attendance for the sitting, have condemned the alleged protest and described their sitting as absolute illegal because the Speaker, the Clerk and his deputy, as well as Sergeant at Arm and the Mace were not there, therefore, any sitting without the listed personalities and the Mace in the house is null and void.
Briefing newsmen on the development, the Majority Leader of the House, hon. Mohammed Bello Mazawaje, explained that, Zamfara House of Assembly learnt that the illegal move by the 8 members was politically motivated by certain quarters from the political chain in the state who have doing their best to derail the present Governor Dauda Lawal-led administration.
“We know they are sponsored by some unpatriotic politicians whose aims were to derail the attention of the State Government and the House of Assembly for noticing that they have failed to follow the reality in fighting the lingering insecurity in the state, as well as putting developmental projects on ground as embarked upon by the PDP-led Government.
“For this therefore, the 8 embattled members will remain suspended indefinitely as declared by the House until after thorough investigation is completed,, and rest assured, justice will be done in the process, anybody found guilty will be punished decisively” hon. Mazawaje has assured.
He further dismissed the claim by the protesting members which led to their move to impeach the Speaker and other Principal officers of the House, saying, “They claimed that it was based on unsatisfactory commitments by the State Government towards addressing insecurity that wanted the Speaker impeached alongside other Principal officers.
“Recently, the State Government had recruited and inaugurated over 2,000 Community Protection Guards to assist in the ongoing fights against banditry by the conventional security personnel, and they were all armed and morally boosted to ensure adequate protection of the good citizens of the state”, hon. Mazawaje has emphasized.
